


Dare to Dream (2007)

by JennyB



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Beach Sex, Boat Sex, Declarations Of Love, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Scheming, Secret Crush, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-29
Updated: 2007-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-12 20:58:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2124507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyB/pseuds/JennyB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever have a scheme so ridiculous that it just <i>has</i> to work?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Seto Kaiba sighed inwardly as he crossed the street, holding tightly to his younger brother's hand. He and Mokuba were on their way to the music store to pick up the newest release by Precocious – currently the hottest rock band in the world. Seto himself didn't particularly care for their music, but Mokuba was a huge fan, and the brunet had promised his younger sibling that if he finished top in his class, he would buy him a copy of the CD. A stupid promise to make, he thought in hindsight, considering there hadn't been much doubt as to the kid being able to meet the requirement. And, as if it wasn't bad enough that he'd be listening to the wailing of electric guitars and the half-shouted lyrics of the lead singer at top volume for the entire summer, he'd told the dark-haired boy that if his overall average was ninety-five per cent or greater, he would also take him to meet the band when they played in Domino next month – the Crown Jewel in KaibaCorp's ' _Slammin' Summer Extravaganza_ '.

He snorted to himself as he repeated the words in his mind. He hated the name, he hated the event, and most of all, he hated his PR department for coming up with the entire asinine idea in the first place. In an attempt to boost sales over the summer for their new products and to show the world that KaibaCorp was, indeed, chaired by a young, hip CEO who listened to the wants of the masses, these young executives had pitched the need for a summer festival of sorts. The whole thing was going to start with a city-wide scavenger hunt. Participants would have two weeks to collect as many of the items as they could from the cryptic clues for a chance to win $10 000. More cash and prizes were up for grabs, and all participants would receive a ticket to the Precocious show at the waterfront amphitheatre – a doubly auspicious event considering Domino would be the closing show for the group's ' _Dare to Dream_ ' tour. And, for as much as he still disliked the idea, he had to admit that it had been a good suggestion. Sales were up twenty per cent over the previous three years, and the CEO's popularity (and, indirectly, that of the company) was up by twenty-five per cent.

Seto's attention came back to the present, and he noted with wry amusement that Mokuba was still babbling on excitedly about the new CD he was going to be getting and the upcoming concert. He smiled softly when he saw the adoration shining in that storm grey gaze. As soon as the younger Kaiba had learned that his brother had managed to secure a concert date in their own town, the brunet's worth had ratcheted up about a million times in the boy's eyes, and he'd been extraordinarily well behaved of late, lest his brother take the concert away as a supreme punishment. They had rounded the last corner and were making their way toward the store when the all-too familiar voice of Duke Devlin rang out. Seto tried to ignore it, but he rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh when the other called to him again. As he stopped, the displeasure was evident in his sapphire eyes when he heard the almost petulant whine at his side. "I know, Mokuba," he murmured. "Shit..." He waited until he felt the other's presence draw nearer and, not bothering to look at him, he said tersely, "What do you want, Devlin? I'm busy."

"Yeah, you look it," the green-eyed teen drawled as he absently twirled a lock of hair around his index finger. "I'm swamped, too." He smirked up at the brunet.

Seto let out a warning growl. He hated the overly-familiar mannerisms of the other CEO, and he found his flamboyant ostentatiousness extremely off-putting. "If you have a point to make, Devlin, then make it. Otherwise, quit wasting my time. I feel like I'm getting stupider by the second standing here with you."

"Ouch. No need to be a bitch, Seto," Duke replied, his smirk widening when he saw the other's flinch at his use of the brunet's first name. "Especially considering how I went out of my way to do you a favour."

"As if." The taller teen snorted at that. "Like I need or want a favour from an effeminate hack like you."

"Ok, now you're just being mean," the green-eyed male said. "And here I come bearing news about your little pet. I mean, it's no real coincidence that he's not here, nipping at your ankles and looking up at you with those dumb, clueless brown eyes."

A brief flash of panic flickered across Seto's gaze, and he caught the confused look his brother was giving him. His lips curved down in a scowl when the younger Kaiba asked him if they were getting a dog, and then proceeded to list off the kinds he'd like and the reasons why. "No, we aren't, so drop it," he snapped, effectively ending the boy's diatribe. "I'm sure your sources are beyond reliable, too, Devlin," he replied sarcastically as he reached into his pocket for his wallet. "Just like your timing and your tact." His scowl deepening, he pulled out his gold card and handed it to Mokuba. "This could take a while. Why don't you go buy your CD, then go to the café next door and have a drink? I'll meet you there, ne?"

Any hurt the small boy might have felt at being summarily interrupted vanished at the sight of the shimmering, plastic card, along with any need he might have had to further press his brother for more information. "Really, Seto?" At seeing the curt nod, he took it carefully, a thrill of devilish delight running through him once it was in his possession. Practically salivating, he thought of the live concert DVDs, the posters, the previously unreleased limited edition collector's set – and wondered just how much he could realistically buy and not be killed by his brother. That thought foremost in his mind, he tore off down the street, eyes locked on the storefront, not giving the other two males a second thought as he drew closer to the cornucopia of swag contained therein.

"Damn it," Seto muttered half to himself as he watched the retreating form disappear into the crowd. He knew that Mokuba with a credit card was like a mental patient with a semi-automatic – it could only spell disaster. He couldn't help but wonder how much splurging his brother was going to do and, turning back to the other CEO, he bit out a terse, "You're such an asshole, you know. I see now that you can't be trusted to keep your trap shut about anything."

"Well, you never told me it was a secret."

The brunet glowered. "Fair enough. So then you won't mind if I mention your infatuation with a certain fin-haired monkey at the next association meeting, will you?"

"Tristan is not a monkey!" Duke shouted angrily, only to turn a brilliant shade of red when a few passers-by stopped to look curiously at him. Now mortified, he muttered somewhat sheepishly, "Point taken." He cleared his throat and managed to recompose himself, the smarmy smile once again settling on his face as he returned to his previous topic. "Anyway, our _misunderstandings_ aside, I thought you might like to know why your attempts to give your poor dog a bone aren't exactly working."

"Jesus, you're uncouth," the brunet retorted.

"And you're a prude with a stick up his ass," came the quick reply. "Your social issues aside, it's not just your winning personality that's keeping you single and dancing to the four-knuckle shuffle. It seems, according to Yugi, that Blondie and my Tris' are getting really close to becoming friends with benefits, if you catch my drift."

"Bullshit. I don't believe that for a minute."

"Believe it. Now, normally, I really wouldn't give a shit about you and your pathetic love life, but since my potential happiness is at stake, I thought I'd let you know." Duke grinned up at him. "I figured that maybe we might work together, since it would be mutually beneficial and all."

"I'm deeply moved," Seto replied dryly. "But I don't need your help. I just need to find some time to-"

The green-eyed teen interrupted him. "See? That's your problem. You don't _have_ the time right now. This is going to take some real effort, and so long as you stay in Domino, you're going to have work commitments and issues with your kid brother and whatever the hell else to deal with. I'm thinking if you can get away from all this, say to a private resort somewhere with sun, sand and surf... Like they say, Seto, happiness is a warm puppy."

The brunet's eyes narrowed in irritation once more. "You sound like you have a plan all worked out and are just looking for me to implement it. And pay for it."

"Am I that transparent?" Duke asked, only to scowl when he saw the smirk cross the other's face. "Fine...yes, I need your help. Your little festival is the perfect opportunity for us. I know that one of your prizes in that treasure hunt is a weekend at that posh resort of yours up the coast. I also know that Yugi and company are planning on entering. If you could make arrangements for them to win that prize, it would be the perfect setting. Away from Domino, away from all distractions..."

"That's not possible...I'm not the one scoring the contest." Seto's brow furrowed in contemplation. It wasn't a _bad_ idea that the other was proposing... 

"That's alright," the green-eyed CEO pressed, obviously undeterred. "I'm on their team, you know. You could give us a bit of 'help'."

"I suppose I could give you the answers, and while I don't think Wheeler or the primate would suspect anything out of the ordinary, that girl...Tina, or Téa, would start asking questions. And no offence, but you're neither an Academy actor nor are you that brilliant."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Duke pouted, not catching the monkey comment in light of his wounded ego. "Give me some credit here! After all, for the last two years, I had the entire school convinced that I was straight." He ignored the dubious arch of a brow. "Look, I'll handle it."

Sapphire eyes gazed at him assessingly for a long time in silence. Finally, he sighed in resignation and nodded. "Alright. I'll leave it up to you, then. You have to make sure you miss at least one, though – you want to win second place, not the grand prize, ne? And don't be an idiot and submit your answers in a day or two...at least make it plausible and wait until the last day."

The raven-haired male looked offended at that. "I told you, I'll handle it. Text me everything sometime over the next few days. Trust me." Giving the brunet a wink and a wave, he sauntered off one way while the taller teen went the other.

Stepping into the music shop and seeing the pile of merchandise Mokuba had on the counter, Seto mentally facepalmed, Duke's last words coming back to haunt him. The two of them working together could only mean disaster, and the brunet had a feeling he'd live to regret this. Snagging his credit card back from his grinning brother and signing the substantial charge slip the clerk set in front of him, he slowly shook his head and thought, ' _Trust you, eh? That'll be the day._ '


	2. Chapter Two

A few days into the scavenger hunt, Seto had texted the clue solutions to the raven-haired teen. He really hadn't put much stock in his business rival, and he had figured it was only a matter of time before something happened and the whole stupid plan blew up in his face. As each day passed, he would check on the contest status with some trepidation, half expecting to find angry letters or telephone calls accusing him of impropriety thanks to Duke's sub-par acting skills and blatant inability to keep a secret for more than five seconds. To his surprise, no such claims were ever made, and as the last day of the contest drew to a close, he breathed a sigh of relief that, if nothing else, he had at least gotten away with the ruse. 

Unfortunately, there had been one flaw in the plan which neither Seto nor Duke had considered, and that was what to do in the event of a tie. Just before the winners were to be announced, Jackson Sylvia, the organizer and chief judge of the event, came to the brunet and informed him that while the grand prize winner had been unequivocally decided, there was a three-way tie for second prize. For a moment, Seto considered simply cutting his losses, biting the bullet, and just inviting Yugi and his group to the resort anyway as a gesture of friendship. Just as quickly, his mind supplied him with images of the diminutive teen hugging him, the thought of which immediately made the bile rise in his throat. He grew even queasier as he imagined spending the entire weekend doing ridiculously kitschy group things. Despite having no hard evidence to support his theory, he believed them to be a group of dorks who wasted their time on nauseatingly wholesome activities like making s'mores while singing campfire songs and having splash fights in the pool.

Giving his head a mental shake and barely repressing a shudder, he dismissed that idea. His goal was to get the blond alone, and he could hardly be expected to do that with Yugi and the tag-along gang right beside him during his every waking moment. Leaning back in his chair, the brunet drummed his fingertips along the edge of his desk in thought. Whether he did a draw, or had a single-clue play-off, there was no way he could guarantee that Joey's group would win. Quickly, he calculated the respective odds, and determined that with Yugi's puzzle solving prowess and Joey's dumb luck, they'd have a slightly better chance with the play-off. Turning to the waiting man, he said, "The participants are expected to be there when the winners are announced, right?" At seeing the confirming nod, he instructed, "Well then, give the three teams a single clue play-off. Whichever one solves it first and gets a digital photo to you wins. The remaining two teams will get third and fourth prize as they solve the puzzle." Jackson beamed at the brilliant idea' and scurried out of the office, and Seto, in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness, took to pacing.

An hour later, the results were in. 

To the brunet's complete surprise and unexpected pleasure, it had been _Joey_ , and not Yugi, who had solved the clue. Somehow, the blond's brain had pieced together that the item in question was a photo of Clem the Clam, the mascot for Fishy Joe's Barnacle Barn – which was quite possibly the greasiest, most unappetizing fast food restaurant in the city. It was located in one of the most run-down neighbourhoods in Domino, and had two claims to fame. One was for still remaining open despite having the most health code violations of any establishment in the last twenty years. The other was the three-foot diameter, wise-cracking, pea-green animatronic clam that spouted various derogatory insults to patrons as they walked in the door. Seto suspected that it was because Joey had had the dubious honour of dining on Fishy Joe's 'World Famous Barnacle Bits' – allegedly small, deep-fried fish nuggets, but more than likely the overcooked pieces collected from the bottom of the fryers – on more than one occasion, hence the blond's familiarity with the establishment.

As he stepped out into the afternoon sunshine to present the prizes and pose for the media, his suspicions were confirmed. As Yugi's group had come up on the dais to receive personal congratulations from the CEO, he heard Duke muttering about how he felt like he should go get a tetanus shot for having been in there, while Joey was crowing about his 'super awesome mental powers' and prattling on about how fish really _is_ brain food, whether swimming in grease or not. He shook the other's hands silently, and when he took Joey's, he smiled at him, and said quietly, "It's a myth."

"Eh?" Joey looked at him as though he had three heads.

"About eating fish. It doesn't make you any smarter. It's a myth." He noticed the blond hadn't let go of his hand yet, and he certainly wasn't calling attention to that fact.

"Then why do they say that shit? My mom was always on my ass about it, too."

Seto smirked. "In the nineteenth century, a professor erroneously published a paper linking the consumption of fish to improved IQ. The urban legend sort of stuck." He really couldn't believe that this was one of the first civilized conversations he'd had with the blond, and it was about something so ridiculously stupid.

"Huh." The fair-haired male finally pulled his hand away, watching him curiously as he stood with the others down at the far end of the podium.

The brunet finished the presentations, and then all of the prize winners met with him and the PR department in the lobby for publicity photos. When it was time for Yugi's group and they gathered to take the shot, Seto stationed himself on one side of Joey, while Tristan glued himself to the other, Duke following suit beside him. A brow arched slightly in surprise and then sapphire eyes narrowed imperceptibly in assessment when he felt the blond shift slightly away from the fin-haired brunet and closer to him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that the nature of events as laid out by the ebony-haired CEO wasn't _entirely_ accurate, and Seto smirked slightly. He'd been played; Devlin had used the blue-eyed teen's own insecurity against him in order to gain an ally to pursue _his_ endeavours. He was grudgingly impressed. He was also slightly pissed off. The other would pay for his brazenness; in the end, it was never wise to cross Seto Kaiba.

* * *

It could never be said that a prize sponsored by KaibaCorp was done half-assed. A week and a half later, Yugi, Joey, Téa, Tristan and Duke were riding comfortably in the back of a white stretch limo on their way to Seto's private retreat. The four males, in typical guy fashion, had spent the first half hour of the drive playing with every conceivable button, switch and dial that was located in the passenger compartment. After checking all the channels the television's satellite picked up, they had scanned the radio dial, and rock music was now blaring out of the custom speakers at considerable volume. The moon roof had been opened on several different occasions, and the teens had taken turns standing up and sticking their heads out the top to wave to passing motorists – until Tristan had had the misfortune of catching a June bug in the side of the face and had nearly knocked himself out in the process. That had ended that game and, while the fin-haired male had let Duke fuss over him by tending to the small cut and resulting shiner, hazel eyes had continued to look hopefully to the blond for _his_ assistance. Joey, however, had become otherwise distracted by the mini-fridge, marvelling over the tiny bottles of water and cans of pop, and the fancy cold hors d'oeuvres that had been put in there. After checking with the chauffeur for the third time that yes, it really was ok to eat them, he'd pulled the plate out, munching on devilled eggs and revelling in cucumber sandwich heaven all while seemingly oblivious to his friend's plight.

Eventually, Téa had pulled out the information booklet on the resort. Seto was the legal owner of the place, but he deliberately stayed out of the day-to-day operations, preferring to remain in the shadows as a semi-secret financer and let it administrate itself. After she had flipped through the glossy pages, she had pulled the boys' attention from the video games they were playing and had suggested that they plan some activities. That had led to numerous arguments, and finally, they had all decided that rather than have a complete plan, they would spend some time together, and some time doing their own thing.

The one thing that they all were in agreement on was that the grounds were nothing short of spectacular. The resort was located about three hours up the coast from Domino, built at the base of a gently rolling mountain ridge. The lodge itself was an all-suites hotel, every room having a cosy fireplace to sit in front of during the winter and a small balcony for use in the summer. The mountains provided a perfect backdrop for skiing, although there was also a pristine sandy beach that backed onto an ocean sandbar. There was a manmade lake that could be used for swimming or ice-skating as the season dictated, as well as vast, grassy meadows, lush forests, and exquisite flower gardens for the nature lovers. It was the perfect getaway, boasting something for everyone – including a state of the art fitness facility, a world-class beauty spa, and an enormous gaming and recreation complex. There were two five-star restaurants, and a smaller cafeteria-style diner that was open twenty-four hours for snacks and light meals. It was an invitation-only resort, built to cater to the rich and famous – and those scant few lucky enough to be admitted. 

And, the brochure didn't do it justice.

As they pulled into the grounds, five pairs of hands were pressed against the glass as five sets of eyes peered excitedly around, trying to drink in everything they could all at once considering their stay would be of limited duration. Even though the blue-eyed CEO wasn't an active member in the running of the place, it was readily apparent that those who were shared his exacting taste and meticulous attention to detail. It was Joey who broke the silence first.

"Fuck me," he breathed. "I bet one night here costs more than I pay for rent for a whole year!"

"That's not saying much, considering the shithole you live in," Duke retorted, unable to resist getting a dig in on the blond. "The Holiday Inn probably costs more."

The fair-haired teen looked first shocked and then hurt, and he was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Hey, Duke…you're supposed to be some hot-shit CEO. How come _you_ don't have a standing reservation here?" From the shade of purple the green-eyed male turned, he knew he'd struck a nerve. With an amused snort, Joey smirked. "Yeah, thought so." Feeling a sense of triumph, he turned back to his window, resting his chin on his forearms as he watched the lodge grow ever closer. 

When they pulled up in front, they all scrambled out of the back of the limo, forgetting to wait for the chauffeur in their zeal. The driver had barely set their baggage down on the pavement when they were grabbing for it. Tristan and Joey fought over which one of them would get to push the luggage cart, only to sigh in disappointment when one of the bellhops swooped in and spirited it off to the lobby. This earned both of them a swat from Téa, and a hissed warning to 'act like they had some freaking manners'.

Following after their vanishing kit, the group entered the lodge, all five of them awed by the decadent surroundings. Still gaping, they approached the front desk, smiling nervously when the concierge arched an impeccably groomed eyebrow at them. "Good afternoon, and welcome to The Briars," he said as he cast an appraising eye over them. The corners of his lips turned down in distaste as he took in their clothing, the scowl deepening when he caught sight of first Joey's, and then Yugi's, hair. "Is there…something I can do for you?"

Duke was the one who spoke up. Resting against the counter, he inched forward a little to read the man's nametag, and he grinned. "Yeah, uh… _Dennis_. Name's Devlin…as in Duke Devlin, chairman and CEO of Black Crown Incorporated. We have reservations here for the weekend, and if you don't mind, we'd like to check into our rooms." He gave the man a wink and slid a twenty-dollar bill across the counter toward him.

The concierge gave him a dubious look, and then snorted at the money, which he pointedly ignored after that. Wordlessly, he typed the name into the computer, a frown crossing his face. "I'm sorry… _Sir_ …but I have no record of your name in the system."

"What about Gardner?" Téa asked. "Or Taylor or Wheeler or Moto? We're the KaibaCorp contest winners!"

Dennis dutifully searched for every name, a small, smug smile crossing his face when all queries came up negative. "I'm terribly sorry," he said, looking anything but apologetic. "Perhaps you're at the wrong hotel. The uh…weekend kegger blast is back about twenty miles. I'd suggest you try there. Good day."

"That's it?" Joey said, his voice raising a few decibels when he realized that their dream weekend was about to go up in flames. "That's fucking _bullshit_!" he shouted, oofing a moment later when Téa elbowed him hard in the gut and gave him a death glare.

"Isn't there someone you can call?" the girl asked, attempting to plead with the concierge. "Maybe your supervisor knows about this. Or Seto Kaiba! If you could just call him and–"

Dennis snorted. "I'm sorry, Miss, but my hands are _completely_ tied." From the look on his face, it was obvious he had no intention of trying further to resolve their issue. "Now, if you don't leave the premises immediately, I'm going to be forced to call security and have you removed." His gaze travelled over to Joey. "Or arrested."

"But–"

"Security!"

From out of nowhere, five large men in suits appeared, all of them brandishing G29s, the standard issue police service revolver for the area. "Hands up!" a large, burly blond man said as he drew back the hammer.

"Do you think Kaiba did this just to make us look stupid?" Tristan murmured to the group, his hands trembling slightly as he held them up in front of him. He'd never been on the business end of a gun before, and he wasn't finding the experience all that pleasant.

"I don't think so, Tristan," Yugi replied, his own violet eyes wide. "It seems a little over the top to be some kind of trick."

"Right," Dennis sneered. "Now, I'm going to ask you one more time. Take your things and–"

"What the hell is going on here?" a familiar tenor interrupted, the voice deathly calm.

The concierge and the five teens all turned to see Seto standing about ten feet away, his arms folded across his chest, and a rather displeased expression on his face. Dennis gave him an ingratiating smile and said, "It's nothing, Sir. Just a minor disturbance. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience, and we'll have these... _people_...out of here in a minute."

Duke stepped forward a pace and blurted out, "We _were_ trying to check in, but Mr. Personality here–"

"Shut up, Devlin," the brunet said icily, cutting him off and holding up a finger in warning to the other members of the group to stay quiet. Only when the raven-haired CEO had fallen silent, even if somewhat petulantly, did Seto wave off the security team. He saw the curious expression on the concierge's face, and his scowl deepened. "These five are the winners of the KaibaCorp summer promotion. I trust there's no problem with getting them checked in, Dennis?" he demanded with a glare.

"N-no, Sir...not at all..." Nervously, he typed on his computer, a faint sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead. "I-I just...can't seem to f-find their reservations."

Slowly, the blue-eyed teen made his way over to the check-in counter, resting his hands on the marble surface and leaning forward slightly. In a low voice, he murmured menacingly, "Did you search under 'KaibaCorp' for their names? I know that it was mentioned in this morning's operations meeting, and it's certainly been in the operating memos – the ones you're expected to read prior to the start of every shift – for the last week, at least."

Dennis's face paled considerably at that and, as he brought a trembling hand up to wipe his brow, he made the suggested enquiry. His eyes widened slightly, and he paled further before letting out a nervous laugh. "Ha ha...look at that," he squeaked. "Reservations for Devlin, Gardner, Moto, Taylor and Wheeler...executive suites." The man shrank slightly under the frigid stare he could still feel on him, and he looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment. Swallowing harshly, he turned to the group of five. "I-I can't even begin to tell you how...terribly embarrassed I am. I-I beg your forgiveness, and please, if there's _anything_ I can do for you during your stay, let me know." Hurriedly, he prepped their key cards and set them on the counter. "W-welcome, and enjoy your stay."

The brunet snorted as he straightened up. "I assure you, Mr. Anderson will be hearing of my…unhappiness about this." A cruel smirk crossed his face at the look of panic on the concierge's face.

"Judgemental asshole," Joey muttered under his breath as he snatched up his card. He slung his gym bag – which was serving as his 'luggage' – over his shoulder, and then stopped in front of the brunet. "Thanks, Kaiba," he said sincerely. "I don't know what we'd have done if you hadn't shown up." He cocked his head to the side. "By the way, what the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"I own this place, Wheeler. Why wouldn't I be here?" he asked with an enigmatic smile.

"Y-yeah, I guess..." he said after a minute. "Hey, Kaiba? I was wondering–"

"Hey Joey! Move your ass, man! We're not holding this thing forever!" Tristan called out across the lobby, effectively interrupting him.

"Oh for fuck's sake, don't get your panties in a wad! I'm coming!" he shouted back irritably, only to grin sheepishly and run a hand through his bangs when he heard one lady's surprised gasp, and saw the disapproving stares a couple of other patrons gave him. "Uh, sorry about that, Kaiba. Guess I gotta make sure I remember my manners, huh?" His face heating in humiliation, he briefly scuffed the ground with the toe of his sneaker, and then he said, "I'd better go before they do something really embarrassing." Without another word, he scurried off to join his friends.

"Hey, Wheeler," Seto called out, smirking when he saw the still-pinked cheeks peek out the door at him. "See you around," he said as he gave him a small wave, the smirk widening when he saw the surprised expression vanish behind the closing elevator doors.

Seeing the brunet was no longer occupied, Gavin Smith, the large blond who served as the head of the security detail, approached. From the expression on his face, it was apparent he was trying to find a delicate way to phrase the question that was foremost on his mind. He needn't have worried. 

A moment later, Seto murmured, "They're harmless. Anything they do will be juvenile, but not destructive." Suddenly, a slow smile spread across his features. "Although, if you're up for a bit of fun, there is something you can do for me." At seeing the inquisitive arch of an eyebrow, the brunet chuckled. "Did you get a good look at Ponytail?" When Smith nodded, Seto's expression turned devious. "Make sure he has a weekend to remember."

Paybacks were a bitch.


	3. Chapter Three

Later that evening, while everyone else was relaxing in their respective rooms, Duke was a man on a mission. Sharp, green eyes scanned the corridors and restaurants for Seto Kaiba, but thus far, his search had come up empty. He skidded to a halt in the lobby and looked around, still seeing no sign of his quarry. "Damn it," he groused petulantly, his frustration evident on his face. "He's like fucking Houdini!" So much for a chance, random encounter with his business rival to make the whole meeting look casual and coincidental. He let out a low growl and tried to tamp down his pride as he approached the front desk. It pissed him off that not only was he going to have to ask for help from the devil himself, he was going to have to further damn himself to do it. Still, when he considered his objective, a little humiliation was an acceptable price to pay.

Duke was confident in his skills as a reputed Casanova, but for him to properly woo Tristan, he needed to get some time alone with his beloved. Much to his dismay, he realized that this was going to be harder than he'd originally thought, since the stocky brunet seemed adamant about gluing himself to Joey's hip and trailing around after him like some kind of pet. Fortunately for him, the blond was either oblivious to the hazel-eyed teen's crush, or he was choosing to ignore it. That made Duke nervous; he figured that it was only a matter of time before Blondie clued in and decided that he wanted a piece of Tristan Taylor – he needed to make a move, and soon! 

The raven-haired male realized that he was going to have to try to get another favour out of Seto. Of course, he would try to convince the brunet that it was in his best interest to comply – especially if he didn't want Joey and Tristan to get any closer. Plastering on his most winsome smile, he approached the night clerk and asked, "Yes, excuse me. I was wondering if you might be able to tell me where I can find Seto Kaiba." His smile widened, and he hoped this guy wasn't as much of a dick as Dennis had been.

The clerk, a young man in his early twenties, smiled back at him. "May I ask your name, Sir? Mr. Kaiba tends to be a very private person, and doesn't like to be disturbed when he's here."

"Sure. Duke Devlin. Chairman and CEO of Black Crown Incorporated."

"Ok, Mr. Devlin..." The attendant typed in the name, and nodded. "Yes, yes...I see you here. Ok, just cross-referencing...and...it looks like you're good. He's on the top floor in suite three. Would you like me to call him and tell him you're on your way?"

"Christ no! I mean, no thanks," the raven-haired teen replied, mentally facepalming after his outburst. "I have a...uh...another appointment, but _thank you_ so much!" Turning away from the counter, he headed toward the elevator bank as quickly as he could without looking like he was power walking across the marble tile. He stepped into the waiting car and pushed the button for the tenth floor. As soon as the doors slid closed, he jabbed the button repeatedly in his impatience, as though that would make it move faster. "He'd better be in," Duke grumbled, practically sprinting into the corridor when he reached his destination. After finding the requisite door, he paused for a moment to catch his breath, then ran his fingers through his hair to smooth down any rogue flyaway pieces, and knocked. When there was no answer after about thirty seconds, he knocked again, more insistently this time. He didn't even have time to lower his hand before the door opened, and green eyes gazed up into a pair of very cold, very irritated, sapphire ones.

"What the hell do you want, Devlin?" Seto demanded, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"You've got to help me," Duke replied as he brushed past the brunet and into his room. "I – holy shit! This room is like, three times the size of mine!"

The taller male scowled as he shut the door, a low growl escaping him as he watched the other slowly turn around, gaping at his surroundings. "Despite what you might think, we're not equals. I far surpass you in every way, so it's only natural that I would have a bigger room than you. And for the record, I don't 'got to' do anything, least of all for you."

"But I thought we were working together on this!"

"That sentence was about six words too long," Seto replied snarkily. "And you're quite mistaken. We _were_ working together. Your initial plan was to get the two of them here, with us, and allegedly free from distraction. For as much as I'm loathe to admit it, it was actually a good idea, and surprisingly, it worked. Now, you're on your own. Or are you truly that pathetic that you need me to help you get a date? Try writing him a note." At that, the brunet smirked. "Mokuba received one from a girl in his class at the end of the year. It said, _'Do you like me? If yes, check this box.'_ That seems to be well within the realm of your capabilities, doesn't it?"

"You're such a fucking prick, Seto," Duke groused. "But, in case you haven't noticed, Joey and Tristan have been practically inseparable since we've arrived. And that's bad for both of us, if you hadn't clued in to that fact."

"Idiot. Of course I've noticed," the brunet retorted. In fact, he'd been carefully watching the pair since they'd arrived. He knew well enough that Tristan's crush was unrequited – it was now blatantly obvious to him – but he felt no compunction to tell the other CEO that bit of information. For the time being, he'd follow along with Duke's script. He pretended to think for a moment, and then he nodded. "Alright, Devlin. I'll find a way to get Wheeler out of your hair for a while, since you've proven you're incapable of doing anything on your own – including taming that train wreck you call a hairdo." At that, his gaze flicked up to the frizzy ponytail, and he snorted in amusement. "At noon tomorrow, the monkey will be solely yours; don't waste the opportunity."

Reflexively, Duke's hands went up to his hair and he cowed slightly. "I told you he's not a monkey!" he shouted, and then he dropped his gaze. "And you don't have to be catty about it. It needs to be styled, but I haven't had a chance to do it since we got here," he murmured.

There was a slight flash of malice across the sapphire, and then the brunet said, "Well, there is a spa here with several worthwhile amenities. I had a manicure myself this afternoon," he said as he gave a casual glance over at the other's hands, one eyebrow arching appraisingly.

The raven-haired male's hands shot behind his back at that. "Shut up!" he snapped, and then he sighed. "Maybe I'll use tomorrow morning to pretty myself up a bit. Not that I need it, but it doesn't hurt to look your best, does it?" Keeping his hands in loose fists to hide his neglected cuticles, he looked down at his arms as if examining them. "Hm...maybe I should add a bit of colour to my skin, too. Not everybody goes for that pale, pasty look you seem to prefer." At that, he leered smugly at the other.

Seto snorted, obviously unfazed by the look or the comment. "Remind me again why I should give a damn about your opinion?" He glanced toward the door, and then back to the other teen. "Now that I've solved your major crisis, are you good, or was there something else you needed? I have things to do."

"Why? What the hell were you doing that was so damned important?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was taking a couple of hours to read a book. I thought the late hour would ensure it was quiet and uninterrupted, but apparently, that wasn't the case."

" _Ooh_!" Duke said with an exaggerated shiver, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Bet you're a barrel of fun to go on vacation with. All the cool stuff to do here and you're _reading a book_."

Again, the brunet snorted, and then looked contemptuously at him. "Oh? And what have you been doing all night?"

"Lots of things!"

"Such as?" Seto smirked. He knew damned well that the raven-haired teen had been trying desperately to find him. He just wished he could have been there to see the green-eyed male trying to sweet-talk the night clerk.

Duke pinked slightly. He couldn't very well say he'd been running around all over the resort and searching for the blue-eyed CEO. "I was...uh, sightseeing. Looking around the place a bit, you know, to get used to the layout." He was secretly pleased with himself for coming up with that one.

Seto arched a brow. "You really are an idiot. Get out of my room, Devlin." When Duke didn't move, the brunet quite forcibly grabbed the smaller teen's wrist and wrenched up on it, ignoring the yelp of protest he earned for his efforts. The taller male dragged his visitor to the foyer and practically shoved him out into the hallway, slamming the door in his face before the other could say a word.

Seto stood there for a moment, glowering at the closed door, and then he crossed over to the telephone. Picking up the receiver, he dialled the number for the spa. When the night attendant answered, he smirked devilishly and said, "Good evening. This is Seto Kaiba, and I'd like to leave a personal message for Charlene, please..."

* * *

The next morning, while Seto was eating a slice of quiche and reading the paper as he sat in the smallest restaurant, he heard a bit of a commotion. He immediately recognized one of the voices as Tristan's and, as he glanced over the top of the page, he frowned slightly. It seemed as if the fin-head and Wheeler were having some sort of a disagreement about something. As they drew closer, he could hear that they were arguing about what they wanted to do that day. The blond wanted to do something out on the water – rent jet skis, go snorkelling, hell, even go fishing, while the other was adamantly trying to talk his friend out of it. A small smirk crossed the blue-eyed teen's face, and setting down his paper, he approached the pair. "Sounds like you have quite the dilemma."

"Yeah," Joey replied somewhat dejectedly. "I hardly ever get to the beach, let alone get out on it. But Tris' wants to go rent bikes, and the other three can't make up their minds and said they'd catch us later. I'd go by myself, but, you know, that's just not safe. Not to mention, it'd be boring as hell."

"That's why I said bikes, man!" Tristan said as he waggled his eyebrows. "That's fun, and you get to feel the wind whipping across your face. Come on!" he wheedled.

"No!" Joey said firmly. "First off, I want to do something I can't do back in Domino. Second, I don't have a major hard on for those crotch rockets like you do. Third, even if I _did_ , I don't have a fucking license–"

"No problem! We can ride together. Head up–"

"You know, I have a 20-metre cruising sloop I keep docked up here; I'll take you out if you want to go," Seto cut in, a pleased expression on his face when he saw the blond's eyes light up.

"Really? Aw, man Kaiba, that'd be awesome!" Suddenly, he sobered. "Wait…you're not going to charge me or anything like that, are you?" When Seto merely snorted in amusement, the grin returned. "Awesome!"

"Yeah, fucking fantastic." The stocky brunet looked somewhat put out by the blue-eyed teen's offer, but he could see how much the idea meant to Joey. "I guess it'd be fun to hang out on a sailboat for a while. Where do you want to meet us, and at what time?"

Seto arched a brow, a cold smirk spreading across his face. "I wasn't inviting you to come along." His sharp eyes caught the barely perceptible look of relief that washed over the blond. "You weren't interested a moment ago, so my offer is extended to the one who was. Sorry for your luck." Turning to the fair-haired male, he said, "It's up to you when you want to go. We can either go out after lunch, or you can meet me in the lobby at noon, and we can bring something out with us. You don't get seasick, do you?"

"Nah, I've got an iron gut," Joey said as he patted his belly. "And lunch sounds pretty good. I'll see you at noon, then."

"Wonderful," the brunet said as he returned to his breakfast, his smirk widening when Tristan asked his friend, "So what the hell am I supposed to do all afternoon?"

* * *

It was about quarter to twelve, and Seto was relaxing in one of the club chairs that were scattered about the lobby. At his feet was a large picnic basket containing the meal he'd asked to be prepared for him. Now all he needed was his passenger. He arched a brow when he saw Duke storm by, oblivious to his surroundings as he made a beeline for the elevators. He could see that the raven-haired male's hair was expertly coiffed, his outfit was the perfect mix of style and sport – and his skin was the colour of a cheese doodle. _'Charlene, I could kiss you,'_ the brunet thought to himself as he chuckled softly, the churlish expression on the other CEO's face bringing him no small amount of pleasure. "Hey, Devlin!" he called, his grin turning slightly sadistic when he saw the green gaze widen and then drop to the floor in an effort to hide the owner's mortification. Getting to his feet, Seto approached the other, making no attempt to mask his amusement. "Jesus, what the hell happened to you? You look like an Oompa-Loompa."

"Shut up!" Duke snapped petulantly, and then he let out a forlorn groan. "I decided to try one of those artificial tans, but I had a reaction to one of the ingredients in the spray. God, who knew that I was the one person in a million who can't handle exposure to dihydrogen monoxide! Damn it, if you're not getting cancer from the real sun, you've got all these shitty chemicals doing God knows what to you!"

Seto sniggered to himself as he listened to the raven-haired male bemoan his latest discovery – that he was allergic to water. "Tragic," the brunet replied, making a mental note to send the aesthetician a bouquet of exotic flowers for simply up and painting Duke a day-glo orange. "So, how long can we expect to see you with this rosy glow?"

"Bite me, Seto," the shorter male groused. "It has to set, which takes about four hours total, and then I can shower it off. If I try to do it before, the tint could soak into my skin, and then I'll have to wait for it to wear off!"

The brunet snorted in amusement and looked up to see Joey and Tristan heading their way. "Well, as I said I would, I got you your alone time with the monkey. Enjoy your afternoon." He chuckled darkly when Duke simply gaped after him, the pink of his embarrassed blush coming through the heavy orange. Retrieving his basket, Seto fell into step with the blond, a small smile settling on his face when the other beamed at him.

While Tristan stared after the departing duo like some sort of lost pet, Duke gazed wistfully at the stocky brunet. He'd hoped that the two of them could spend some quality time together, but that idea was looking more and more remote. Especially when he saw the taller male start to walk away. "Hey, where are you going, Tristan?"

The fin-haired teen shrugged. "I don't know; maybe I'll go see if I can find Yugi and Téa. I think they were going to check out the recreation centre."

"Oh." He worried his lip for a moment, and figuring things couldn't _possibly_ get any worse for him right now, Duke screwed up his courage and asked, "You want to do something with me? I mean, I've got to wait a few hours before I can wash this shit off, but I'm sure we can come up with something better to do." Green eyes clouded slightly when he saw that the other didn't seem really keen on the idea. It figured; so far, the trip hadn't been all it was cracked up to be. First, he'd had to call the front desk when he'd suddenly found himself with no hot water, and then his key card was accidentally deleted and he hadn't been able to get into his room for an hour or so after breakfast. He'd thought things might be starting to look up when his manicurist had been twenty minutes late starting on him, and thus he'd been comped the free tan, but his current state of mind was a testament to how wrong he'd been. Suddenly, he sighed. "Forget it, man. It's alright." He turned toward the elevator and jabbed the 'up' button with his thumb. After a moment, he felt a presence by his side, but he didn't dare to look.

"We can watch a movie and have lunch, and then decide on something to do then, right?" Tristan asked.

The dark cloud that had been hanging over the raven-haired teen lifted at those words. "Hell yes!" he replied, forgetting about the overall crappiness of his weekend to date. "Tell you what, I'll even treat."


	4. Chapter Four

When Duke and Tristan arrived in the raven-haired male's room, the green-eyed teen suddenly found himself feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious. The stocky brunet had a somewhat discomfited expression on his face, and he'd promptly settled himself into one of the two chairs that flanked the dinette-style table. The two had hardly said a word to each other in the elevator, and now, Duke was finding the silence that stretched between them extremely awkward. He sat down on the small couch that faced the television, and he flipped it on. After a moment, he came upon some Rambo-type movie and, when he saw Tristan straighten up in interest out of the corner of his eye, he left it on that. With a sigh, he drew his knees up to his chest and half-watched the screen. Only three more hours to wait... He heard a soft rustling behind him, and the long-haired teen figured that the other was sifting through the stack of magazines and papers that were piled neatly on the corner of the table. Suddenly, he heard a surprised gasp, and he turned toward his guest. "What's the matter?"

Tristan held up a fanned out assortment of magazines – Cycle World, Bike, Sport Rider, and Performance Bikes to name a few – and looked at the smaller male. "When the hell did you start reading these?" he asked, dropping his gaze to flip through one of the issues.

Duke shrugged. "I don't know...a few years ago, maybe? Why?"

The brunet cocked his head to the side. "Do you ride?"

"Yeah. I've got a Ducati 1098 S Superbike, and a Suzuki Hayabusa."

"No fucking way!" Tristan exclaimed. "Oh man, I've just got a crappy little Yamaha myself. I mean, I love it to death, but shit, compared to _yours_ , mine looks like a toy!" An excited gleam in his hazel eyes, he moved to sit beside the other teen, the magazines still clutched in his hands. "I'm saving up for a Hayabusa myself, but that won't be until after college, I bet."

The raven-haired male gave a small smile. Maybe the afternoon wouldn't be a complete waste after all... "Hey, they have a place that lets you rent sport bikes here. The roads are awesome in the foothills for it. I mean, I have to wait a bit first, but if you wanted to, I'd –"

"Oh _hell_ yeah!" Tristan replied, interrupting the other and giving him a brilliant grin. "I'd love it!"

The pair spent the remainder of Duke's self-imposed exile talking and joking, sharing a lunch of pizza and chicken wings while they waited for the time to pass. Finally, the blessed moment arrived when the raven-haired male could shower, and after giving himself a thorough scrubbing, he emerged from the bathroom with a healthy pink glow to his skin.

Not twenty minutes later, they were climbing on their Kawasaki Ninjas and tearing off down the highway and into the mountains. The green-eyed teen was beyond happy. He was out on the open road, and he was there with Tristan and no one else. The stocky brunet was a good rider, too. On one deserted, flat stretch of pavement, he hit the throttle and popped the clutch, executing a perfect wheelie. Duke was noticeably impressed – he'd never been able to hold one for more than a few seconds, so Tristan's mastery of the trick was something to behold.

The scenery was nothing short of breathtaking. As they rode higher into the mountains, they found themselves on the edge of a large bluff that looked down over the ocean. Large, towering trees loomed above them, shielding them from the scorching summer sun and creating playful shadows that flittered across the road. Rounding a corner, they could see the resort off in the distance below them; they were well and truly away from civilization now. They rode on a few more miles, and then Tristan got Duke's attention, gesturing to him to pull over.

The green-eyed teen spied a small outcropping of rock that got them suitably off the mountain pass and out of the path of any possible traffic, and he shut down his bike. Pulling off his helmet, he shook out his dark, wavy tresses and looked curiously at the other. "What is it?"

"Your back tire is running flat," the brunet informed him as he, too, removed his helmet, nodding to the noticeably soft rubber. "You're not going to be able to ride much longer on that."

"Shit," Duke groused, and then he sighed. "Alright, I guess that's it for today, then. Can I ride back on your bike with you?" he asked. "I really don't want to take that down the mountain – not with how curvy these roads are."

Tristan nodded. "Yeah, I was going to suggest that if you didn't," he replied. He went to start his bike again, only to scowl slightly when, instead of hearing the motor roar to life, he heard a sickening grinding sound. "What the hell?" Irritably, he booted out the kickstand, and then began trying in earnest to get the engine to turn over. "Fuck," he muttered when he flicked the headlight switch and got no response from the bike. "It looks like there's an electrical short somewhere – or a busted wire – and with no tools here, trying to find it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It looks like we're both going to need a tow – or we start walking." He smirked as he glanced over at Duke and then down at himself, noting with wry amusement that the leathers they were wearing were hardly conducive to hiking in hot, hazy weather.

Wiping his brow, the hazel-eyed teen retrieved a bottle of water from the bike's small storage compartment and took a drink before he passed it over. As the raven-haired male took a sip, Tristan watched the way the other's throat worked as he swallowed, his eyes taking in the faint sheen of sweat that glistened on Duke's skin, and how the black and crimson leather riding outfit formed just so to the contours of his body. Subconsciously, he licked his lips; Duke had a tighter, slightly more compact form than Joey, and though he was sure both males were equally attractive, he knew that he'd never be able to talk the blond into wearing anything like that. Suddenly, he snorted humourlessly; he'd never really be able to talk Joey into _anything_ \- at least, not as long as his best friend had a thing for Seto Kaiba.

Hazel eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled the way the blond had looked at the blue-eyed CEO, and how he had seen that same look mirrored in the stoic teen's usually shuttered expression. There was no way he could compete with that, no matter how hard he tried – not that his efforts to date had been exactly roaring successes. Slowly, Tristan raked his gaze over the dark-haired teen's form once more, and he felt a small tingle run through his body. Mentally, he called up the image of Joey, and he suddenly found himself wondering whether he really was attracted to his best friend, or if it had been a crush of convenience. The blond was definitely good looking, but the amber-eyed male had never really shown any interest at all for anything outside the bonds of friendship… Again, Tristan licked his lips. Without a doubt, Duke had an exotic look to him, but more than that, he'd often been there for the stocky brunet when he'd needed comfort. Forcing his gaze away, he idly wondered if it would be worth pursuing, or if he was just setting himself up for another disappointment if he was reading the green-eyed beauty incorrectly. Sighing softly, he scrubbed a hand through his hair in frustration before turning to the task of removing his riding jacket.

Duke could feel Tristan's gaze on him, and he surreptitiously glanced over at the brunet. He liked the way the taller teen looked in the black leather – and it certainly filled him with deliciously naughty thoughts. As his mind inconveniently supplied him with various mental images, he barely managed to suppress a wanton groan when the taller teen unzipped his coat and took it off to reveal smooth, tanned skin and strong, broad shoulders peeking out from beneath a white muscle shirt. A moment later, he realized he was staring, and he gave his head a small shake to clear the fog from his brain. "Um… I have my cell with me; I can call someone, yeah?"

Tristan nodded. "Yeah…Tell them we're on the 7B, about thirty miles north of The Briars."

The raven-haired teen nodded and pulled out his phone, first calling information to get the number for a garage, and then dialling for a tow. After explaining his situation first to what was presumably a receptionist, and then to the shop manager, he was finally put through to dispatch. He was halfway through his explanation of where they were when suddenly, his phone cut out. At first, he thought that his signal had simply been dropped given their location, but when he went to hit redial, Duke realized that the battery was dead. "Oh, fuck no!" he said with a scowl. "Fuck, fuck, _fuck_!" Irritably, he threw the device back into the storage compartment on his bike, and then angrily unzipped his own jacket, throwing it to the ground in his frustration. "I was sure I'd charged that thing last night!" he groused. Obviously aggravated, the green-eyed teen ran a hand through his hair, and added, "The real bitch of it all is I don't know if the genius on the other end actually got my message, or if we're going to be sitting here on our asses all fucking night!" Petulantly, he kicked a rogue pebble across the road, and then glowered at the other male. "God damn it! Nothing has gone right for me yet, so I might as well fuck up one more thing and be done with it!"

Before Tristan could comment, or react, Duke had grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him down into a bruising kiss. After a moment, the smaller teen released him and took a half-step back. "There. If you want to kill me for that, go ahead; it wouldn't really shock me given how this weekend has turned out."

To say that the stocky brunet had been surprised would be an understatement, but he in turn completely shocked Duke when he grabbed him by the wrist and yanked the shorter male to him. Gazing into the stunned green eyes, Tristan murmured, "Just…shut up." And then he claimed those lips for his own.

* * *

It was a perfect afternoon for sailing. The sky was blue, and a gentle breeze was blowing in off the ocean, keeping the heat and humidity at bay. Joey grinned as he leaned over the side, letting the ocean winds ruffle through his hair. He'd been surprised when he'd seen Seto's boat – not that he'd been expecting the brunet to have some sort of dinghy to paddle around the bay with, but this had looked like something straight out of the America's Cup. And he'd giggled at the name – ' _Who's Compensating?_ ' Thus far, he'd been enjoying himself immensely, and was secretly grateful that the blue-eyed teen had had a four-man crew available to sail the vessel – he didn't have that much skill, really, and truth be told, the blond would much sooner ride than work anyway. Still, Seto had let him steer for a bit, telling him what commands to bark out to the crew to get them moving along at a fair clip.

After a while, Joey had asked to relinquish the helm. Once he'd been suitably relieved, he had carefully stretched out on the bow deck, occasionally dipping his fingers into the cool, blue water as he had sipped bottled iced tea from the picnic basket at his side. They were still moving along at a decent speed (Joey figured they were probably doing better without his 'help'), and as they started to round a small islet about ten miles off the coast, Seto called out to him, "It's nearly one-thirty. Are you ready for lunch?"

The blond nodded, and when Seto beckoned him over so that they could sit in the air conditioned living areas below deck and eat, Joey grabbed the picnic basket and carefully picked his way over the various lines to the steps. He knew he shouldn't step on any of the rigging as that was a major sailing faux pas, and as he concentrated on not causing any trouble for the crew, he didn't hear the call of 'boom coming about'. The next thing Joey knew, he was seeing stars as the beam cracked him in the back of the head, sending him reeling. Through the pained haze, he somehow managed to grab hold of the gunwales, which kept him from being knocked into the water. Unfortunately, the picnic basket wasn't so lucky. With a forlorn expression on his face, he watched it tumble through the air with all the grace of a one-winged dead seagull to land in the water with a sickening 'plop'. His expression grew even more despondent when he saw some of the plastic containers float up and out of their wicker prison to bob merrily along the surface of the water. Despite the way his head now throbbed, his golden eyes immediately sought out sapphire, and he dropped his gaze, fully expecting to be reamed a new one for his clumsiness. However, instead of anger, those blue eyes were filled with concern.

After seeing that Joey was mostly fine – meaning, he was still on the deck, upright, and not unconscious – Seto simply picked up the fisher's gaff that was stored alongside the deck. Carefully, he hooked the wayward basket and brought it back on board, setting it beside the stairs. He moved to the blond's side and peered apprehensively into his eyes, checking him for any signs of a concussion. Then, as he gently but insistently pushed Joey's head forward, he lightly ran his fingers over the injury site. There was a bit of a goose egg, but thankfully, no blood. "I think you're going to have a bit of a bump," he said finally. "Come on; I'll get you something for the headache I know you have to have, and some ice." Keeping an eye on the boom, he helped Joey down below deck, got him seated on one of the galley benches, and then went back to retrieve the remains of their still dripping lunch. Chuckling softly, he set it in the sink. "Most of it's still here," he remarked as he began to fill an ice pack. "However, I think the bit of sushi I'd put in there has been returned to Poseidon."

"Kaib', I'm really, _really_ sorry," the blond began, obviously upset for having ruined the brunet's preparations. "I can't believe I was so stupid as to –"

"Relax," Seto interrupted as he set the ice on the back of the other's head. "It's just lunch, not the end of the world. I'm just glad to see that you didn't fare worse than you did." He smirked. "You're not the first, and I know you won't be the last, to be on the business end of that boom." He cast a meaningful look at the other, and with a wry grin, he added, "And no, you may not tell Yugi or anyone else."

"You mean you got hit, too?" the fair-haired teen asked in disbelief, his words trailing off into a pleased groan when he felt the cool sensation against his skull. "Oh God, that feels good."

Seto waited until Joey had placed his hand on the ice pack to hold it in place, and then the brunet moved over to one of the small kitchen drawers. Wordlessly, he pulled out a bottle of extra-strength acetaminophen, which he set on the table beside the other along with a glass of water. "Take two of those now," he instructed. "I'll give you two more in a couple of hours."

The blond did as he was told, a curious expression once again settling on his face as he watched the taller teen get out some plates and utensils for them. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, and though he worried that he was potentially screwing up a good thing, he simply had to know. "Hey, Kaib'?" He could feel those intense sapphire eyes on him, and without having to look up, he knew he had the other's attention. For a moment, he considered how best to ask his question, and in the end, settled for blundering right into it, as per his usual wont. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Joey looked up, and seeing that the brunet was still staring at him, his pulse started to race as he continued to ramble. "I mean, I like it and all - _really_ like it – and I'm not complaining or anything, but you've never really been one to go out of your way for me, and I was sure you hated me, given our past together. Not that you've really been a mega asshole lately, either, but..." He flushed deeply and fell silent as he took to picking at a hangnail and suddenly wishing that he _had_ been knocked overboard.

Seto was quiet for a long time. Finally, he came over to the table and set down a bowl of fresh strawberries and pineapple chunks, a plate of various cheeses and crackers, and a small platter of assorted small desserts. He shrugged in response to the question and instead said, "I'm sorry; we lost our entrée. If you want, when we get back to Domino, I'd like to take you out for sushi to make up for it. I know a few places."

"It's ok, Kaib'," Joey replied. "And yeah, I'd like to go out with you –" Suddenly, he stopped dead, a small sound like a squawk escaping him when he realized what he'd just said. "Y-you mean like... _friends_ , right?" His heart was hammering in his chest now, and he could feel his cheeks heating again. There was no way that the brunet could possibly mean anything else, no matter how much he hoped it was so. Desperately, he tried to slow his breathing, secretly praying that he didn't look like as big of an ass as he felt.

"If that's what you want it to be," Seto replied evenly. "I wouldn't expect anything more given my past behaviour." He sighed inwardly. There was no point in further deluding himself if the blond wasn't interested. He refused to stoop to a Duke level of desperation, and if the other only wanted a casual acquaintanceship, he was prepared to live with that. After all, if he was truly honest with himself, even that was more than he deserved. And at least it was something.

"Expect any – what?" Amber eyes stared at him in disbelief for a minute. "You...me?!" he squeaked. "But…since when?" he managed to stammer.

Again, the brunet shrugged. "I couldn't say, really. I suspect for a lot longer than I've realized. I've been...trying to get you to notice." He gave a humourless snort. "This wasn't exactly how I'd pictured it happening in my mind, but now you know." Exhaling heavily, blue eyes noted the awkward expression on the blond's face. "Do you want me to take you back now so you can spend time with your friends? I'll be disappointed, but I won't be offended."

Joey sat in silence for several moments, trying to absorb all that had been said to him. Sure, he'd fantasized about dating the handsome CEO – just like every other sane person on the planet – but he'd never seriously thought he'd have a chance. Nervously, he licked his suddenly-dry lips and stretched out his arm so that his fingertips were just barely touching the brunet's elbow. Hesitantly, he peered up at the other, as though he was expecting Seto to suddenly yell 'Psych!', or worse, laugh at him for being so gullible and stupid. "I'm already spending time with my friends. And, unless you don't want me here anymore, I want to stay." His expression turned slightly uncertain as he partially dropped his gaze, looking up hesitantly at the other.

"And I don't want you to leave," came the hushed reply as an uncharacteristic wave of shyness washed over Seto, and he mentally chastised himself to get a grip. At that moment, he felt like a simpering ass, but even so, he couldn't help the small, genuine smile that curved his lips upwards when he saw the blond's brilliant grin. Relaxing a little, he nudged one of the plates toward his guest.

His own grin widening, Joey picked up a couple of crackers and sandwiched a piece of Camembert between them. He set it on his side plate, and then made an identical one for the brunet. "Fuck, some host you are, Kaiba," he teased, his headache forgotten for the time being. "You invite me out here for lunch, and then have me making the damned sandwiches!"

Seto chuckled softly. "I'll return the favour, if you'd like," he remarked as he made an open-faced Gorgonzola on Melba toast for the fair-haired teen.

They continued in this manner until the plate had been emptied, and then they began on the fruit and desserts. At some point, Joey offered the brunet a bite of the chocolate-coated mini-éclair he held in his hand, his head bowed in a coy gesture as he gazed up at the other through golden lashes. Once the dark-haired male had taken a bite, the blond popped the remainder in his mouth, a small dollop of the decadent filling missing its mark and landing on his upper lip.

In a bold move, Seto leaned over and brazenly pressed his mouth to the other's, lingering for just a moment before he pulled away. He was elated when he realized that Joey hadn't panicked or pushed him back, and he felt almost giddy when the blond had ever-so-slightly leaned into him. Slowly, he licked his lips, savouring the small taste of cream he'd stolen.

It was the sweetest, most delicious thing Seto had ever tasted.


	5. Chapter Five

It was just before five o'clock when Seto and Joey returned to port. The blond's headache was currently little more than an inconvenient throb, and he was feeling pretty good, albeit a bit confused at the moment. His thoughts kept drifting back to the small, sweet kiss he and the brunet had shared over dessert. It had certainly taken him by surprise, but he'd immediately liked the feel of those soft, warm lips against his own. Unfortunately, it had all been over before he'd had a chance to register what was going on, and he'd been a little bit disappointed that Seto was such a gentleman – the other hadn't done anything else since then save for sit a little bit closer to him and occasionally brush against his arm or his hand as they'd talked. Joey had contemplated taking action himself, but he was uncertain as to where, exactly, he stood, and he didn't want to risk incurring the blue-eyed teen's wrath for being an idiot. He'd seen Seto lay someone out for touching him without his permission once before, and he certainly didn't want to have such action wrought upon himself.

Forcing himself back to the present, Joey sighed heavily when he saw that their private time together was now over. He waited until the crew had secured everything (he really didn't want a repeat of his encounter with the boom), and then he moved to the rear of the boat, taking the brunet's offered hand as he jumped onto the dock, the picnic basket swinging against his hip. For what seemed like an eternity, he just stood there, looking up into those deep, sapphire eyes, and then his gaze dropped for a moment as he stared longingly at Seto's soft, pink lips. Finally, he cleared his throat as he handed the basket back to its owner, and he said, "Um...thanks again for the awesome afternoon, Kaib'. My clumsiness aside, it was really fun, and lunch was great."

The brunet gave him a soft smile in return. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he replied as he stooped slightly to set the basket down. "And I'm relieved that you weren't seriously injured." He moved as though he was going to once again feel the bump on the back of the blond's head, but he caught himself at the last moment. The faintest tinge of pink spread across his cheeks as he added, "If you ever find you want to go again sometime..." Under the guise of looking at his watch, he dropped his gaze, leaving the unfinished invitation hanging in the air.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Joey replied with a grin, the expression widening further when he saw the brunet's face light up. "So, um...did you want to maybe catch a bite with me at dinner? I mean, I know it's still early and all, but I don't mind eating later." He inwardly winced, wondering if maybe that knock to the head had made him even stupider than usual. He glanced briefly up at the other and let out a slightly sheepish laugh. He felt like a moron – he'd never been this awkward about stuff like this before!

Seto's smile faded. "I'm sorry, but I can't," he replied sincerely, his own disappointment increasing when he saw the crestfallen look that clouded those gorgeous amber eyes. "I have to take a teleconference with my PR people back in Domino to discuss the final details for tomorrow night's concert. I had to push it back earlier to make sure that I had the afternoon free, and I really have to talk to them to make sure that all of the last-minute preparations have been finalized." The brunet snorted contemptuously. "Precocious should be called 'Pretentious', what with all of the ludicrous demands they have – and if every one of them isn't met, its grounds for them to arbitrarily cancel the show. Christ, they want a goldfish bowl of peanut butter M&M's chilled and waiting for them – but the brown ones have to be removed because they 'harsh their karmic flow'. And that's one of the more 'normal' requests; it's ridiculous!"

Joey snickered softly at the mental image of some lackey sorting through bags and bags of candy, and then he sighed. "It's ok, Kaib'; I know you've got stuff to do, and I'm grateful that you were able to make the time for me. So, I guess I'll see you around then?" For a minute, it looked as though he was going to hug the taller male, but instead, he settled for offering a handshake.

Seto looked down at the extended arm, and he felt his heart sink. Numbly, he shook Joey's hand, and then slowly released his grasp to watch the blond turn from him. He clenched his jaw tightly, and he realized that he was simply letting the other walk away from him feeling hurt and rejected. He needed to fix this first, the concert be damned. "Wheeler!" he called out, jogging the few paces to close the distance between them. "Joey, wait," he said as he caught the fair-haired teen's wrist in his hand. He turned the smaller male to face him, and he asked quietly, "Will you meet me later?" The brunet gazed into the soft, nervous amber eyes and added, "I think...I think this is relatively new territory for both of us, and we need to talk about...this, about us. And that's assuming, of course, that you even want there to be an 'us'. I'll wait for you in the back gardens by the rose arbour at midnight – that is, if you choose to come, ok?" For a brief moment, he let his own uncertainty over the situation show in those usually self-confident blue eyes, and then he released the blond. As he watched the other walk, and then run, toward the lodge, he realized that he was now facing what would undoubtedly be the longest seven hours of his life. He was inordinately grateful that he would have work to at least partially distract him during that time.

* * *

"Yug'? Yugi? _YUGI_!!" Joey's frantic voice rang out along the corridors as the blond searched desperately for his best buddy. He needed advice, and he needed it now. The diminutive teen hadn't been by the lake or the pool, the concierge said he hadn't seen anyone fitting the spike-haired male's description leave the lobby en route to the beach, and he wasn't yet at dinner. The recreation centre was deserted, so that left only one place – his suite. Joey sprinted to Yugi's door and fumbled nervously in his wallet for the key card – when they'd first arrived, he and his amethyst-eyed friend had traded their spare room cards, knowing that, inevitably, one or the other would accidentally lock themselves out of their suites. After a couple of failed attempts, the blond finally got the door to open, and he stepped inside. "Hey, Yug'? I really need some advice about – oh fuck!! God, Yug', I'm so sorry; I didn't know!"

The short male was seated on the living room chaise, his shorts tugged down around his thighs to reveal a rather prominent erection. Beside him sat Téa, the bra of her bikini top pushed up to reveal her ample breasts. Yugi was nuzzled against the one closest to him, eagerly suckling and mouthing the nipple. She had a fist wrapped around Yugi's cock and was frantically jerking him off while simultaneously tweaking and pinching her other breast in time with her movements. The spike-haired teen had his one hand down her bottoms, his fingers expertly caressing her most intimate area. The girl was obviously close to orgasm if the wanton mewls and moans coming from her were any indication.

Flushing a deep crimson, Joey bolted blindly back to the door as he hurriedly covered his eyes, trying to purge the image of what he'd just seen from his mind. "I-I'll be down by the...uh, lake when you're...um, finished, Yug'," he called out in complete embarrassment, not at all caring right then whether his friend had heard him or even noticed him. Mortified beyond imagination, he stopped at the small convenience store in the lobby and bought a snack-sized bag of potato chips, and then headed out through the back doors toward the water.

The sun was dipping lower in the sky and had gone partly behind the mountains, which covered the area in shade. Joey sat down on a wooden bench and opened his treat, slowly crunching through his 'appetizer' as he idly watched a few young kids splashing around on the makeshift beach. It wasn't long before their parents had retrieved them to get cleaned up for dinner, and in the newfound peace and quiet of the area, a few ducks had returned to the shore. Eventually, the birds took notice of the blond – and more importantly, his chips – and they waddled up the bank to stare at him with their black, beady eyes. Joey smiled. "Yeah, I guess it's dinner time for you guys too, huh?" He reached into the bag and crushed a chip in his hand, and then tossed it out for the ducks. His smile widened when they came even closer, and he figured that by now, they had to be pretty tame what with all the people around to feed them. He tossed them another handful, his eyes widening in surprise when he heard angry chattering, and then saw a fat, grey squirrel scamper across the grass to chase the birds away, its tail bottle-brush straight. Once the ducks had moved to a far enough distance, the small rodent began gathering up the chip crumbs and stuffing them into his cheeks. "Huh," Joey said. "Guess you're hungry too." He threw a larger chip down for the squirrel, and when it scampered off – presumably to bury it for the winter – he tossed another handful of crumbs to the ducks.

Not a minute later, the squirrel was back, chattering agitatedly at the ducks and once again driving them back so that it could gather up the veritable feast that had been laid down before him. "You're pretty fucking rude," Joey commented as he held out a chip for it, hoping like hell it wouldn't freak out and bite his fingers. "There's more than enough for everyone, you know." He grinned when the squirrel cocked its head to the side as though it understood him before stealing the chip and scampering off.

"You know Joey, talking to animals is the first sign you're going crazy."

The blond turned at the voice, smiling at the tiny teen despite the flush that quickly returned to his cheeks – Yugi _had_ heard him after all. "Yeah, well, maybe I am, Bud," he offered in response. He set the bag of chips down beside him and waited for his friend to take a seat next to him. Before the other could say anything, Joey said quickly, "I'm really sorry, Yug'...I mean, you should have put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign or something on the door – or locked the deadbolt." He grinned sheepishly. "How pissed is Téa at me for intruding?"

The smaller male giggled, a blush colouring his own cheeks. "I would have, but it kind of happened really fast, and I didn't think about it, really," he replied. "And to be honest, I...don't think she knew you were there." He giggled harder. "She never said anything, anyway, and I'm sure not going to say a word! So, what's the 'big emergency' anyway?" he teased.

Inwardly, the blond breathed a sigh of relief. He'd certainly dodged a bullet with that one, and he thanked every god he could think of that he wasn't about to be killed by the petite brunette. Joey dropped his gaze to his hands and took a deep breath. "Well, you see, I – what the hell is that smell?" he asked suddenly, his senses overwhelmed by the sweet, nauseatingly fruity aroma coming from next to him.

"Mango scented sun block." Yugi laughed when the fair-haired teen looked at him like he was crazy. "It's Téa's. She'd been tanning by the pool today and had been wearing it. I guess some must have rubbed off on me earlier. That, and we didn't have any lube, and –"

"Ok, I get it!" Joey interrupted, giving his head a furious shake. "I didn't need to know that much detail, Yug'!" He playfully swatted his friend when the small teen only laughed harder, and he desperately hoped that the wild-haired male was simply pulling his leg. " _Anyway_ ," the blond pressed, hoping to steer the conversation away from Yugi's sexual exploits, "I went out sailing with Kaiba this afternoon." When the other male nodded, he continued. "We had lunch together and stuff; it was pretty nice. I had a lot of fun. It's just that..." He paused for a moment, worrying his lip with his teeth. "Well, I think he wants us to be, I don't know...a couple?"

"So? What's the problem? You've wanted that for a long time, Joey!"

"I know, I know. It's just; I'm having a hard time believing this is all real. I'm confused, because he makes it so hard to know what he's really thinking – I guess that's why he wants to talk later. Heh, not that I have a fucking clue what I'll say back! And then there's Tris'. I know he's been making moves on me for a while now, and if he finds out I'm with Kaib' – or at least pursuing him – he's going to try to do something stupid. I know him. And then, there's me. I feel like such a schmuck around Kaiba. I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do, and I look like a complete ass."

Yugi sighed. "Look Joey, all I'm going to say is this. Kaiba's definitely been acting different around you lately – a good different. I don't think he'd go to this much trouble if he wasn't being sincere, but you have to ask him. Yeah, I know he can be intimidating sometimes, but he's a person, too. And I bet he's just as uncertain about this as you. As far as I know, he's never really seriously 'dated' anyone – Téa reads those celebrity gossip magazines," he added by way of explanation when he saw the raised eyebrow. "As for Tristan, Téa and I both have tried to tell him you're not interested – just like we did with Serenity. He can't expect that you'll feel the same about him, Joey; that's just not fair. Besides, on my way out here, I passed him and Duke on their way in." He smirked at that. "Let's just say I think he's going to be ok."

"Yeah?" He saw Yugi nod, and then the blond sighed, starting slightly and giving a small chuckle when the grey squirrel jumped up onto the edge of the bench, jabbered impatiently at him, and then stole away with the chip bag. "Now I've just got five hours to kill..."

* * *

Seto had finished with his call a little before eleven o'clock, and had been pacing the gardens since then. He was uncharacteristically nervous – probably because unlike in his boardroom, there was no way he could control the outcome of this meeting. Twice, he'd heard footsteps along the path and had looked over hopefully, only to resume his pacing when first it had been another couple out for a walk, and more recently, one of the groundskeepers. Finally, he spied the familiar blond mop of hair, and his heart started beating frantically in his chest. Nevertheless, he managed to mask all outward signs of anxiety, and he tried not to look too eager while he waited for Joey to make his way over to him. "Hi," he greeted when the other joined him, and he motioned to a low stone bench for them to sit on.

"Hi," the blond returned, and he wordlessly sat down beside the brunet, nervously fidgeting with his hands.

Seto, too, sat in silence for a long while, everything he had prepared to say having been momentarily forgotten. Never before had he met someone who had such a profound effect on him as to render him speechless. At least when he was pretending to be an asshole, the snark came easy. Finally, he found his voice, and glancing sidelong at the teen next to him, he snorted humourlessly and said, "You know, for someone who runs a multinational corporation and strikes fear into the hearts of the most powerful men in the world, you'd think I'd be able to have a normal conversation with you."

Joey smiled at that. "I think you've been doing ok."

The brunet chuckled softly. "Thanks. To be honest, it doesn't feel that way. But I'm glad it's at least coming across properly. I'd hate to think I was losing my touch."

The blond's smile widened a bit, and then he dropped his gaze as he worried his lower lip with his teeth. "Hey, Kaiba? Earlier, when you said you wanted to talk about us...you weren't bullshitting me, were you? You want there to be an...us?"

Seto nodded, forcing his gaze to remain steady. "I do. Very much so." He paused, and then asked quietly, "Do you?"

"I..." The shorter male looked up, meeting the dark sapphire. For a moment, he searched their depths, and he could see the sincerity behind the words. "I do..." he said finally.

"But?"

The blond shook his head. "It's stupid. This whole thing, it just doesn't feel real. I mean, I thought you hated me, and we always fought, and that seemed normal for us. Then, we didn't fight any more, and were civil, and I liked that and hoped we could be friends. And now...shit. I feel like I'm in the fucking Twilight Zone or something!"

"Joey..."

The fair-haired teen started at the gentle voice, and he turned to the brunet. "You...called me by my name earlier, too..."

"Yes." A soft hand stroked tenderly along his cheek. "I know this whole thing seems a bit...surreal, but trust me when I tell you that this is what I want, and I've never been more straightforward in my life."

"Really, Kaib'?"

"Really. And please, call me Seto...those closest to me do." The brunet smiled when the blond gave him a shy, but pleased, grin in return, and he could feel his nervousness disappearing, his typical self-confidence returning. "Can I kiss you again?"

Joey dropped his gaze demurely, peering up at the other through his long lashes. "I've been hoping you would since lunch."

His smile widening and turning slightly wolfish, Seto turned a little and leaned in closer to the smaller teen, his arms slipping around the slender waist as he pressed slightly parted lips to the full, luscious mouth before him. Like before, he felt intoxicated by the sweetness of the blond's kiss, and he let out a wanton purr when a small, pink tongue peeked out to swipe at his bottom lip. That simple gesture was his undoing, and as he responded by thoroughly ravaging the fair-haired male's mouth, he was only vaguely aware through his lust-induced fog of Joey climbing into his lap and wrapping his arms possessively around his neck. The whole thing felt natural and right and perfect, and when they finally broke apart, Seto sat there for a good while, panting breathlessly and delighting in the blissful giddy feeling that filled him. He loosed a slightly raspy chuckle as he gazed into the gorgeous amber eyes he adored so much. "Comfortable?" he asked as he nodded to the way the other was straddling his lap, facing him.

"Mmm, very."

"Good. I am, too." They sat that way well into the night, sharing many deep, soulful embraces and soft, tender kisses. After a while, Seto confessed what he and Duke had done to get Joey and Tristan out of Domino, and he'd been pleasantly surprised when, instead of being angry, the smaller teen had laughed at the sheer deviousness of it all. Finally, as sleep started to overtake them, the two decided that they should probably call it an evening. Reluctantly, Seto eased the blond from his lap, and took his hand tightly in his as they headed back to the resort. "Tomorrow, will you attend the concert with me?" he asked as they neared the building, and then he frowned when he saw the discomfited expression on the other's face. "What is it?"

"Well..." The blond worried his lip, and then said hesitantly, "I'm...really not a fan of Precocious."

At that, the brunet laughed. When he saw the questioning eyebrow, he said conspiratorially, "I can't stand them, either."

The shorter teen blinked in surprise, and then he giggled. "Seto?" he began shyly.

"Yes?"

"I think I love you."

"You know what, Joey?" Seto replied with a small smirk. "I think I love you, too."


	6. Chapter Six

Dawn was just starting to break as two lone figures made their way along a deserted stretch of beach, their hands clasped tightly as they ran along the surf. Finally, they collapsed onto the shore, the taller of the two leaning down and harshly kissing the smaller one. After a moment, they broke apart, both of them giggling slightly as they removed their swimming trunks and tossed them a bit further up the bank. Getting to their feet, they ran out into the water a little more than waist deep and fell into an embrace.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," the brunet said as he dipped his head and suckled briefly at a nipple before licking up to the other's collarbone to add yet another mark to the myriad ones already there.

His partner groaned softly. "Oh fuck, don't stop... _Ngh_! I've never been to a nude beach before, and since we're leaving a little after lunch, this was really the only time to go – I didn't think you'd want to with the others around."

"Actually, no," the taller said with a chuckle. "Although, I don't think that would have really stopped me from taking advantage of you." Grinning impishly, he turned the other around and began to grind his pelvis against his lover's ass as he reached around to stroke the shorter teen's cock to full hardness. Moaning hungrily as he felt the flesh swell against his palm, his own sex already achingly hard, he nipped at a shoulder, his rigid shaft teasingly probing the cleft. "God, you're gorgeous," came the sensual purr. "I can't keep my hands off of you."

"Oh shit," murmured the smaller, his eyes falling closed as he licked his lips. "You're such a fucking tease, you know that?" he groused good-naturedly as he pressed back against the larger teen, a wanton gasp escaping him when he felt the tip slip further into him, just barely penetrating the tight muscle. " _Please_ ," he begged as his hands slid up his own chest, his fingers pinching and rolling his nipples. "I _need_ you...Fuck, don't make me beg."

"Insatiable, aren't you?" the brunet whispered, his tongue trailing lightly against the delectable skin, chuckling darkly at the needy moan his actions elicited. "Maybe I like it when you beg...it's a turn on. It makes me want to take you hard and fast." He arched his hips forward, his cock head slightly stretching the ring. "Is that how you want it?"

"Oh fuck yes!" A desperate whimper fell from the smaller one's lips, his cheeks slightly flushed as he panted harshly in anticipation. "Anything, just, _please_!"

"Mmm...So greedy," the larger said with a grin, and then he snapped his hips forward, completely sheathing himself in that tight heat with a feral groan. He felt his cock twitch at the unrestrained mewl the other let out, and he gave a few long, slow thrusts to give his lover a chance to adjust. His hands slid down, grasping tightly onto his partner's hips, and he set up a rhythm of hard, fast, deep strokes. "God...feels so good," he whispered, and then he demanded, "Touch yourself...I'm not going to last very long."

The shorter did as he was told, and it wasn't long before he was writhing in pleasure, teetering on the brink of his own orgasm as he all but sagged against the other. "So...close...Ngh! More!"

The brunet loosed a licentious growl as he drove hard into the pliant body against him, and as he felt his stomach tighten, he fisted his fingers in his lover's hair and jerked his head back. Ruthlessly plundering his mouth, he thrust in hard, releasing deep inside the other, his hips spasming jerkily with each pulse.

The smaller moaned libidinously, the cry of his partner's name muffled by the kiss as he, too, reached his peak, white ribbons of his seed spurting out into the water to be carried away by the waves. Sated for the time being, he eased himself forward and then turned, wrapping his arms around the taller teen in an exhausted embrace.

Meanwhile, a large blond man stood on the shore, unnoticed by the two trysting lovers. A cigarette dangled from the corner of his lips, and he smirked as he knelt down and picked up the two discarded swimsuits. In their place he left a couple of small hand towels – one a fluorescent fuchsia, the other a day-glo lime. Smith snickered in amusement when he imagined the two of them trying to sneak back into the resort unnoticed in _those_ , and he had to admit that the juvenile pranks had been somewhat entertaining over the past few days. "You know what, boys?" he said quietly to the couple, even though he knew they'd never hear him. "I think I'm going to miss you two."

* * *

Brunch turned out to be an interesting affair for the group. Yugi and Téa had secured a large table outside on the terrace, and were murmuring softly to each other while they waited for the rest of the group to join them. Tristan and Duke arrived together, both wearing big smiles on their faces as they held tightly to each other's hand. Duke was obviously a little sore as evidenced from the way he was walking, and judging from the countless love bites that could be seen peeking out from under the collar of the stocky brunet's t-shirt and the long scratches down his arms, it was quite obvious what the two of them had been doing. "Good morning," Yugi greeted with probably more enthusiasm than was necessary in an attempt to mask his own awkwardness. He and Téa had seen the two of them streaking through the lobby that morning, each wearing a garish hand towel like some kind of bizarre loin cloth/diaper cross, and the two surprised teens had agreed that it was something neither of them would ever mention to the two Tarzan impersonators.

"Mmm, it certainly is," Duke purred as he sat down at the table, wincing only slightly as he did, and then reaching for the coffee carafe, the embarrassment of losing their swimsuits forgotten in the continuing afterglow of their early morning lovemaking. "I'd say it's already better than yesterday, which was pretty fucking amazing in itself." He smirked at the memory, his cock rapidly hardening as he thought about it. 

The previous night while they'd been waiting for the tow truck, things had gotten pretty heavy between him and Tristan. After a few steamy kisses, Duke had boldly dropped to his knees to give the fin-haired brunet a mind-scorching blowjob right there on the side of the road. It had been absolute heaven for the green-eyed teen – not only had he discovered that Tristan was more than accepting of his offer and _extremely_ well-endowed, but he'd nearly came in his own pants when the other had harshly fisted a handful of his hair and fucked his mouth with wild abandon. Truth be told, Duke liked it a bit on the rough side, and he was more than content to serve in the submissive role – although he did speak up when it came to telling his lovers what he wanted. In return for the treat he'd received, the hazel-eyed brunet had been in the middle of giving him one hell of a hand job when they'd seen the flashing lights of the approaching tow truck. The smaller teen had almost cried at the sight, his cock aching and throbbing painfully against the restricting leather of his pants – 'blue balls' didn't even begin to describe it. To make matters worse, there'd only been room in the cab for one, so Duke had had to ride the entire way back to town settled on Tristan's lap. His already stressed body had been even further teased by the substantial bulge that had pressed against his ass for the majority of the trip, and several times he'd had to bite his cheek to hold back a moan when they would hit a bump and he'd feel that hardness push more firmly against him. Fortunately, the stocky brunet had sensed his discomfort, and the second they'd returned to the resort, they had sequestered themselves away in Duke's room, Tristan thoroughly sating the raven-haired male's need, while the green-eyed teen had shown just how...appreciative he was for the attention.

"Yeah, where the hell _is_ Joey?"

Duke was brought back to the present by his lover's voice, and he scowled jealously when he heard him make mention of the blond's name. "Who cares?" he responded before he could catch himself, not realizing that Tristan had merely been parroting off another's question.

Three sets of eyebrows rose in curiosity, but before any of them could say a word, a fourth voice interjected coldly with, " _I_ care."

The raven-haired CEO blanched slightly and let out a nervous chuckle when he raised his head to meet the icy sapphire gaze. "S-Seto! P-pleasant surprise seeing you here."

"Shut up," the slender brunet snapped as he sat down in the vacant chair beside Yugi and sipped his coffee. He nodded somewhat cordially to the other three, his gaze never wavering from his nemesis. "You really should learn to pay attention, Devlin. Idiotic statements like that are the reasons why you'll always be content to surround yourself with clueless primates." He snickered softly into his mug when he saw Tristan give the green-eyed teen a totally blank look. 

Yugi smiled at the newcomer, pleased that the stoic CEO was actually going to join them. In an attempt to keep the tenuous peace that existed between the two businessmen, and to assuage the concerns of the two male brunets, he said, "Joey's probably just running late. He was up and about when Téa and I called on him earlier. He should be here any minute."

Seto nodded, and then settling back in his seat, he looked around at the group of teens, taking note of the various hickeys, scratches, bites, and other assorted marks adorning their bodies. As he chuckled to himself he thought that perhaps Yugi and company weren't as wholesome as he had initially believed – a promising discovery considering that he was likely going to have to share the blond's free time with his friends. He fell silent as he listened to the four engage in idle small talk, only half-paying attention to the conversation until he heard Téa call out a greeting. Looking up, he smiled softly when he saw Joey, and he got to his feet, offering the fair-haired male his chair since they had only procured seating for five.

The blond promptly waved him off as he reached behind him and dragged another one over to the table, sandwiching himself between Seto and Tristan. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late," he offered, and then his eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. "Fuck, Tris', you get in a fight with a vacuum cleaner or something?" he asked when he took a better look at his friend.

"Oh hardy har har!" Duke interjected petulantly, scowling slightly when the fin-haired brunet pinked slightly and grinned. "Been saving that one up for a while now, Blondie? Or is that just the best your little pea brain can come up with?"

Joey snorted and overtly gave the green-eyed teen the finger as he reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a mug. "Get bent, Duke."

"Ooh, good comeback!" the long-haired male sneered. "But if I'd wanted a comeback, I'd have wiped it off your chin." His gaze momentarily shifted to the blue-eyed male and his grin turned malicious. Unable to resist getting a dig in on both of them, he added, "Or did the Ice Prince already take care of that for you?"

Téa gasped, and Yugi's eyes went wide in horror, the two of them seemingly rooted to their places in fear when they saw the murderous expression that had settled on Seto's face. The blond flushed bright crimson and sputtered incoherently, trying to find his voice so that he could deliver an appropriately scathing insult in return. He was drawing a huge blank, and the only thing he wanted to do at that moment was to punch that smug asshole right in his prima donna face. Clenching his jaw and exercising Herculean restraint so as not to shame their host or make the rest of the group feel any more uncomfortable, he finally managed to hiss, "Listen here, you girl gone wrong, you're lucky there are a bunch of people here right now, or I'd kick your ass into the middle of next week, get me?"

Duke's eyes narrowed at the slight. "All right. Let's take it somewhere else, then."

Joey snorted. "I'm not going to fight you; we both know you don't stand a chance, and you're such a pussy you'd probably get Tris' to fill in for you. Besides, this isn't about beating the ever-loving shit out of you, really. It's about embarrassing you as badly as you've embarrassed me –"

"I don't see how that's possible. Just you walking around should be embarrassing enough for you and those around you. I don't know how Seto can stand hearing the laughter, but then again, I hear he's into lowlife mutts – they don't expect much."

The blond felt the blue-eyed CEO tense, and he scowled. "That's it. You and me are going to settle this properly. The gauntlet is down! I challenge you to a duel!"

The raven-haired teen rolled his eyes. "Fuck that. I'm not playing Duel Monsters against you. Been there, done that, kicked your ass, and stuck you in a dog suit. Really, you never looked better than when you were my bitch."

Joey growled lowly. "You wish, RuPaul. I'd kill myself before I'd ever be owned by a prancing fairy like you," he snapped. "And I'm not talking about that kind of duel, dumbass. I'm talking the 'fifteen paces, turn and fire' kind of duel."

"Holy shit, you _are_ stupid. That kind of duelling has been illegal for years, Einstein."

"Then I guess I'll have to choose a weapon that is still legal, won't I? You and me on the beach by the lake at noon. You'd better show, Princess, or when we get back to Domino, I'll take you down on the street."

"Yeah, like I'm fucking scared," the other retorted as he stood up to leave. He felt no reason to tell anyone that he wasn't being _entirely_ sarcastic.

* * *

When he put his mind to it, Joey could be extremely creative. Coupled with Seto's propensity to ensure that revenge was swift, sure and certain, the blond was pleased with what he had thought up. Truth be told, he was more or less over the slight – but he just couldn't pass up an opportunity to humiliate Duke. The two of them had always had a tenuous friendship at best, and he liked that he was going to be able to one-up the green-eyed teen. Like often happened when he was at odds with one of his friends – or, more correctly,   
Duke or Tristan – the two aggrieved parties would usually find some way to beat the hell out of each other in a show of full-blooded male testosterone. When the dust settled, the incident was forgotten, and life went on. As he gave one last look at the 'field of honour', he pressed his lips into a thin line, setting his game face while he waited for his opponent.

Seto was waiting with him, and he, too, was anticipating the upcoming duel. Since it was a test of physical prowess, he gave Joey the upper hand – he'd had gym with Duke their previous school year and had seen his rival's less-than-stellar athleticism first hand. Yugi and Téa were also there. The girl was notably unimpressed with them for resorting to such a display of barbarism, and Yugi was attempting to explain to her that duelling was a noble sport, designed to restore a person's honour. It wasn't until he used her in an example that she came around somewhat, but she still didn't look all that pleased that two of her friends were fighting.

Shortly before noon, Duke and Tristan arrived on the scene, and the two of them exchanged puzzled looks when they saw two pails set about twenty feet apart. "Alright, Blondie," the green-eyed teen said, trying to mask his curiosity by sounding beyond bored. "I'm here..."

"Good. Glad you didn't wuss out. I was half expecting you to," Joey goaded as he walked over to one of the buckets. "Our weapons will be slingshots and water balloons." He nodded down at the pail by his feet. "We each get ten, and the first one to get a hit wins." He glanced at the red designer t-shirt his opponent was wearing, and as he tugged off his own top, he said, "Right. Strip off."

The raven-haired male arched a brow. "What the fuck for?"

The blond shrugged. "Suit yourself then... I was just giving you the option to protect your clothes." He grinned impishly. "Not _all_ of the balloons contain water."

"W-what's in them?" the other demanded, his eyes wide.

"Well, seven of them have water. One has hot sauce. One has blue food colouring. And one has that whore lure you like to wear – what did you tell me it was called again, Set'? Polo?" He chuckled when he heard Duke grumble as he irritably pulled off his shirt, taking secret delight in the fact that all of the projectiles were filled with plain, ordinary tap water. After the other had handed his top to Tristan, Joey's grin widened when he saw of all the love bites marring the long-haired CEO's torso. "Nice one, Tris'," he commented with a wink, and he laughed when his friend just flushed and smiled back. "Ok." He turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "Since I'm a nice guy, I'm going to let you pick which end you want, so you can't bitch later that it wasn't fair."

Duke chose his side, and then the two combatants moved to the centre of the area. "I want Téa to say go," he stated. "She's neutral." Joey agreed, and the petite brunette joined them at the start point.

"You're both idiots," she declared, and then sighed. "When I say 'go', you can run to your assigned bucket and fire at will." Once the two were standing back to back, she held up a hand as a 'get ready' signal, and then dropped it with a shrill, "Go!"

The two males raced to their designated areas, each taking up the small slingshot and loading their weapons with the water balloons. Duke's first shot went about five feet before exploding on the grass while Joey's sailed in a high arc, landing about ten feet behind the other. Volleys were exchanged in rapid succession, and as the raven-haired teen picked up his last balloon, he saw the fair-haired male just standing there. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he took careful aim at his unarmed opponent and fired, his shot landing about four feet wide.

"Well, that was fun," Duke announced as he stooped to pick up his pail. 

"Not so fast, asswipe," Joey retorted as he reached into his bucket for his final balloon. Loading the projectile in the pocket, he waited until the other looked up in surprise, and then fired his shot. He watched it sail perfectly through the air, and he swore that he would never have a more pleasant memory than the look of utter panic in Duke's eyes as he was hit square in the forehead, the rubber exploding with a satisfying sploosh to thoroughly drench the other. Slowly, a wide grin morphed across the blond's face, and then, he started to laugh.

The dark, usually coiffed hair was now dripping wet and hanging down in stringy tendrils. The ebony eyeliner he typically wore (which, apparently, _wasn't_ waterproof) was running in wild, black rivulets down his cheeks and dripping onto his bare chest. He blinked in stunned shock, and then he snorted humourlessly. "Happy now?" he asked as he wiped at his eyes and scowled at the dark smudges on his fingers. "Fuck, I'm going to have to shower again..."

"Overjoyed," the blond replied as he placed a hand on his heart in a gesture of ultimate sincerity. "I'd say we're good, yes?"

Duke nodded, but before he could reply, there was an irritated growl from the fin-haired brunet. Dropping his lover's shirt on the ground, he pointed an accusing finger. "You did that on purpose, Joey!" Tristan thundered as he launched himself at his friend, knocking him to the ground and easily using his larger size and the element of surprise to pin the other on his back. "You cheated, you son of a bitch!"

For a moment, the blond couldn't speak for having had the wind knocked out of him. And then he had to focus on not getting punched by the wildly swinging brunet. Finally, he shouted back, "There was no rule that you couldn't wait, and it wasn't like I hid it behind my back or anything! If he was stupid enough to turn his back on me before the duel was declared over, then tough shit! You know that as well as I do, man!" Joey struggled, and with some effort, he managed to flip them, so that he was now looking down into angry hazel eyes. "Fuck, Tris', you get laid, and suddenly, your dick becomes your brain!" One of the larger male's hands got free, and he clipped the blond hard in the cheek. Amber eyes narrowed and the fair-haired teen raised a fist to retaliate.

Duke moved as though he was going to intervene, but one look at the warning glare Seto was giving him stayed his movements. Swallowing nervously, he stood down, knowing that if he tried to interfere, he would be stopped – and the method would likely be painful.

The two friends sparred for several minutes, trading glancing blows and arguing until Joey suddenly knelt on the fin-haired brunet's chest, effectively stopping the melee. "For fuck's sake, will you listen to me for two seconds, you dumbass?" he snapped, panting harshly as he swiped at his bleeding lip, which he had accidentally bitten during the brawl. "If you'd been paying the fuck attention, you'd know that me and Duke had just agreed that things were cool between us, you fucking caveman! Jesus Christ, get some self-control, would you?" Letting out a snort of disgust, the blond licked his lip as he got to his feet, and then spat a mouthful of blood into the sand. Irritably, he fluffed his hair, which sent a shower of the fine particles back to earth, and then he turned the pockets of his shorts inside out to return a small beach worth of sand back to its original home. Finally, he smiled and extended a hand, tugging the other back to his feet. "You got me a good one, Bro," he commented.

"Yeah, well, I'm lucky you didn't break my fucking nose," Tristan replied with a smirk, and then he tugged the other to him and gave him a brotherly hug.

"Pull some shit like that again and I will!" He laughed and started picking up the broken pieces of balloon so that the ducks – and even that psychotic squirrel – wouldn't accidentally eat them and choke.

"Duly noted." The hazel-eyed brunet stretched to pop out a few kinks, and then joined in on the cleanup. When they were finished, he said, "I guess we'd better get packed to head back. The limo's coming for us at two-thirty, right?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah, it is, but I'm not going back with you guys. I'm going to ride home with Seto. But, I'll catch you before the concert, right?" At seeing his friends nod, he grinned. "Cool!" he replied, and then he grimaced slightly as he pulled at his shorts. "In the meantime, I'm going to grab a shower...I think I've got half a sandbar in my ass."


	7. Chapter Seven

The atmosphere was electric as the five friends stood outside the Domino amphitheatre that evening, along with what looked like half of the city's population. Precocious was exceedingly popular with the twelve-to-twenty-five demographic, and the news had been reporting that every seat had been sold for the concert – ten thousand indoors, and another fifteen thousand on the grass outdoors. Those who had tickets for outdoors were currently being admitted, and since lawn chairs weren't permitted, the fields surrounding the building were slowly being covered with blankets, beach towels and sleeping bags of every colour like some sort of haphazard patchwork quilt, leaving not much actual grass exposed. KaibaCorp had a special VIP section reserved at the front by the stage for its contest winners, and the energy in the air was almost palpable as concert goers waited for the doors to open so they could get in.

As it was, the night was perfect for an open-air concert. The temperatures were hot, but there wasn't a trace of humidity, and a gentle ocean breeze was wafting over the area, making it quite comfortable. Not a cloud was in the sky, and it was going to be ideal for the fireworks scheduled for later on. Joey was resting his forearms against the metal railing where they were queued up, and was gazing out at the crowd. The other four were babbling excitedly about the upcoming show – especially Yugi and Téa, who were practically bouncing up and down. The blond smirked to himself. Tristan had never really claimed to be a fan, but after learning that Duke idolized the lead singer, the extremely ostentatious Johnny Love, to the point of hiring the same designer to decorate his house, the fin-haired brunet had suddenly starting admitting to finding their music to be 'not too bad'. Joey rolled his eyes when he heard the green-eyed male start telling them again about how the rich colours like royal purple, electric blue, crimson and gold 'were the perfect mix of eclectic elegance and style', and how it spending a significant portion of time within those walls would 'completely realign one's cosmic chakras'. The blond believed that Duke had simply been suckered by the designer based on how he spouted off hackneyed catchphrases, and that the colour scheme sounded more like a really tacky looking bottle of Crown Royal than anything. However, he kept that opinion to himself; to mock the band or any aspect of their lives at that moment would not only invite a verbal berating from his friends, but he'd likely be lynched by the crowd and never heard from again. He might be rash, he might be impulsive, but he wasn't suicidal. Exhaling heavily, his lack of fanaticism precluding him from the conversation, he swore that he was going to puke if he heard one more reference to 'the fantabulous Johnny Love' by any of them.

Pushing his long bangs from his eyes, the fair-haired teen glanced up at the amphitheatre's marquis, and noted the time. It would still be a half an hour before Seto could join him – he'd promised the blue-eyed brunet he'd wait out front for him, and then the two of them were going to go off to listen to the show from a distance. Mokuba would be enjoying the performance from backstage, under Roland's guardianship. The amber-eyed teen felt a bit sorry for the stoic advisor, but he couldn't help but giggle at the mental image. He was fairly certain that this wasn't the sort of concert the older gentleman tended to frequent. Currently, the young CEO was meeting the band members along with his brother, and he smiled softly when he tried to imagine the awestruck look on the boy's face. Seto had asked Joey if he'd wanted to come with him, but the blond had politely declined; he didn't want to look like an ass in front of everyone if he was asked what he thought of their music. Suddenly, he perked up when he saw a mop of soft, white hair moving down the sidewalk, and he grinned when he realized who its owner was. "Bakura!" he shouted, waving his arms wildly. When the other merely stopped and looked around in puzzlement, he called out again, "Turn around and look over here, you British wanker!"

Chocolate brown eyes surveyed the gathered crowd, and then lit up in pleasure upon seeing the friendly blond frantically gesturing to him to come over. "Hello everyone!" he greeted when he joined them, standing on the opposite side of the metal barricade.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Joey asked in obvious surprise. "I mean, not that it's not good to see you, but I thought you were in England all summer and wouldn't be back until just before school."

"Ah," the snowy-haired teen grinned. "There was a slight, erm…change of plans. See, Dad received a call and was asked to come to Korea to examine some artefacts, which essentially cut short our vacation. I could have stayed with my Great Aunt Myrtle in Bristol, but she has about a million cats, is extremely crotchety, and her entire flat smells like rotten cabbage. Needless to say, it wasn't a difficult choice to come home and spend the remainder of the break here."

"What sort of artefacts, Bakura?" Yugi asked.

The newcomer shrugged. "Dad didn't say much, really. It has something to do with the legends of the Korean gremlins – tokkaebi. Apparently, archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a village that used to worship them."

"Neat!" the diminutive teen exclaimed. "I'll have to tell Grandpa to give your dad a call when he gets back to Domino. I'm sure he'd love to hear about it."

The pale teen nodded and beamed. "Dad would love that. He always enjoys having tea with your granddad." Bakura paused and looked at the gathered teens. "So, I had no idea the five of you were coming to the concert!" 

"Yeah, we kind of won tickets in a KaibaCorp contest," Joey said, and then he briefly explained what they'd had to do, and the events leading up to the present.

"You're quite lucky." The dark-eyed teen grinned sheepishly and nodded down at the Smurfs sleeping bag he held in his hands. "They're my favourite group, and we missed them by a day when they played in London. I was really excited to know I'd be home for their final show, but unfortunately, all of the indoor seating was sold out by the time I got back to Domino, so I had to settle for the grass. It's too bad I won't have a very good view, but I guess it's the experience that's the important thing." Idly, he ran a hand through the long, white tresses as he gazed over at the rapidly filling field, and he sighed. "That said, I guess I'd better get going, or I'll be lucky to be on this side of the hill. Later!"

"Bakura, hang on a sec," Joey called after the retreating figure, and when the slight male turned back to him with a curious look, he asked, "Hey, you think you could sell that ticket of yours?"

"Well…of course. Easily. But, why on earth would I want to do that?"

The blond grinned. "Because you won't be needing it if you're sitting in the front row, will you?" he replied as he held out his own ticket. When he saw the incredulous looks his friends were giving him, he chuckled. "Look, I know you all are going to think I'm crazy, but I _really_ hate these guys." Ignoring the gasps, he said, "Set' and me are going out on the boat to listen and watch the fireworks and shit. I don't need it, and I was going to sell mine, but I'd sooner give it to you, Bakura."

"Joey, I…are you sure?"

Amber eyes sparkled and he nodded. "Very sure. Come on, man…take it. You'll appreciate it way more than me." He hopped the barrier and stood beside his friend. "Look, I'll even take your sleeping bag with me so you're not lugging it around with you all night. Now go unload that thing, and get your ass back over here. They're going to be letting people in soon!" His grin widened when astonished brown eyes stared at him first in disbelief, and then gratitude, and he watched the soft-spoken teen disappear into the crowd to sell his ticket.

"Dude, Kaiba's sailing his boat down from the resort for tonight?" Tristan asked. "And when were you planning on telling us you weren't coming, ass?" The brunet gave his friend a playful punch in the shoulder.

"Nah. He's got a power boat here in Domino," Joey replied as he gingerly rubbed his arm. "It's not as big as the sailboat, which is why he docks it in town." He smiled softly when he remembered Seto telling him about the ten-metre craft on their drive home. "It's like the one in ' _The World is Not Enough_ '." He figured Tristan and Yugi would know what he was talking about, since the three of them had only recently rented the James Bond film to watch. He saw the two confirming nods, and then turned back to the crowd to watch for Bakura, deliberately not answering Tristan's second question. He figured that they wouldn't miss him all that much anyway once the music started playing, and with the pale teen in his place, they'd probably have a better time.

A few minutes later, the white-haired teen returned, sans sleeping bag, with a big smile on his face. While Joey stood guard, he hopped the barricade to stand beside Téa. After receiving his ticket from the blond, Bakura thanked him profusely once again, and then handed him some money. "For the sale of my ticket," he explained at seeing the arched eyebrow.

"Fuck, Bakura," Joey exclaimed when he saw that there was a hundred dollars there. "I don't expect you to pay for my ticket – I got it free, remember? I mean shit, you should at least get back what you paid for yours!"

Chocolate eyes glinted deviously. "Oh, believe me, I did. That's just your share of the profit."

"Holy shit! How much did you sell it for?" Tristan asked. "I know they were asking seventy-five."

"Three hundred. Plus another hundred for the sleeping bag."

"Nice!" Duke exclaimed, and then he laughed. "I had no idea you were so cutthroat."

The snowy-haired male sniggered at the other's choice of words. "You couldn't possibly imagine," he replied with a dark smile, and then he pulled his iPod out of his shorts pocket. "Téa," he said, turning to the petite brunette. "I know you'll appreciate this. When I was in England, I found a rare CD of some of their underground stuff. Would you care to take a listen?" he asked as he offered her one of the earphones. "If you like it, I'll make you a copy for your own collection."

Joey smiled at his friends as he watched them take turns passing around the headset, all of them seemingly overjoyed with what they were hearing. Finally, he spotted the tall brunet in the crowd, and with a hasty, "Later guys!" he took off to meet Seto. He felt all warm and tingly inside when he saw the sapphire eyes light up in pleasure, and as he fell into step beside the dark-haired male, he figured that at least one of them had heard him say good bye.

They walked companionably along the sidewalk that skirted the amphitheatre, heading for the neighbouring marina. Joey told the brunet about the wait, and how he'd given Bakura his ticket to the show, and then had giggled as he'd regaled the other with the tale of the snowy-haired teenager's amazing deal.

"I'd have demanded five hundred, minimum," Seto promptly retorted, and then he told Joey about the band, and how he found them to be even more insufferable to be around than Duke. However, Mokuba had been in his glory, and his unabashed worship of the four musicians had apparently endeared him to the group. Delighted, they'd showered him with armloads of new swag which, to Seto's chagrin, he was likely going to plaster all over his walls the second he got home. "I hope like hell this is just a passing phase," he grumbled, only partially joking. 

Leading them down one of the floating docks, he stopped at his slip and smirked when he heard the other snicker at the name of the vessel – _Byte Me_. Seto pressed a quick kiss to the smaller teen's lips, and murmured jokingly, "It's an industry term." Then, he helped the blond on board the Superhawk 34 before he released the moorings and jumped on deck himself. He took Joey's hand in his as they made their way to the bridge, and he nodded to one of the leather captain's chairs as he made preparations for their departure. At seeing the curious look the blond was giving him, he smiled and said, "This can be crewed by one, and once we get a bit farther from shore and anchor, we won't even need to be out here."

The fair-haired teen nodded and settled into the plush seat, watching the other with great interest as he slowly throttled up and eased them out of the marina and into the open water of the harbour. He was surprised to see so many other boats out, but he supposed it wasn't really all that unusual. Many were gathered for the fireworks, and as they moved carefully through the maze of anchor lines and watercraft, he realized that he could clearly hear the soundman for the warm up act doing the mike checks. He smiled when he realized that the brunet was taking them out quite a bit farther from the gathered masses, and as Seto set the anchor and shut down the engines, Joey gasped softly as he looked around.

The sun was just dipping below the horizon, painting the sky to the west a deep, blazing orange streaked with red and purple. To the east, the soft inky indigo of twilight was descending on the town, the first stars of the night peeking out as pinpoints of brilliant white light. "God, Set', it's gorgeous out here!" he breathed, having never seen nightfall away from the poisonous lights of the city.

"It is," the brunet agreed as he pulled the other to him, his lips descending to capture the blond's in a searing kiss. "But then again, you're here."

Joey flushed slightly at that, and couldn't help the small giggle that escaped him at the taller teen's flirting. He found it extremely endearing, and he slid his hands around Seto's neck to return the gesture. When he finally pulled back, he frowned slightly. "Shit, Set', you're tense!" he remarked as his fingers pressed against the tight shoulders. "Work got you worked up?"

"A little," the brunet replied. He had no desire to inform the other that he was also extremely worried about doing something to screw up his fledgling relationship. "It's nothing to be concerned about, really."

"Bullshit," Joey replied softly, and he chuckled at the surprised arch of an eyebrow he received. "It can't feel good for one thing and for two…" A hint of pink spread across his cheeks as he dipped his head to whisper shyly, "I'm a bit nervous, too." When the sapphire eyes snapped up to meet his, the blush deepened and he nodded. "I'm waiting for you to wake up and realize you made a mistake. It's like this is too good to be true, you know?"

Seto didn't answer. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the other and kissed him desperately, trying to pour out everything he felt for the other into that moment in order to assuage the blond's doubts. His own melted away when Joey responded with the same desire, the same frantic need. Reluctantly breaking the embrace, he licked his bottom lip as he exhaled softly, and he smiled gently. "I think I feel a bit better about things now."

"Mmm, me too," the fair-haired male purred, and as he returned to gently nuzzle the taller teen's cheek, he said, "If you'll let me, I can make you feel a lot better."

The brunet cleared his throat, and by some miracle, he managed to keep his voice calm and even as he asked, "What are you proposing?"

"A massage. I've been taking special interest courses in massage at the college to see if it's something I want to get into when I'm finished high school, and I've been working part time at one of the day spas, too." Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he affectionately brushed the bangs from those deep, sapphire eyes he loved and kissed the tip of the other's nose. "And, for an extra twenty, I'll give you 'happy ending'," he teased in a heavily accented female voice, though from the way his heart was hammering in his chest, he knew he was only partially kidding.

Seto gaped at him wide-eyed for a moment. He knew _exactly_ what the blond was offering, and he had to bite his tongue, literally, to keep from blurting out his acceptance when he felt a slight tightening in his groin. After overcoming his initial shock, he took note of the sparkle in Joey's expression, and as his own turned sultry, he drawled back, "If you're any good, perhaps the happy ending will be yours." Leaving the blond to ponder that for a moment, he brushed past him and stepped down from the bridge, and then descended the few steps to go below deck.

Joey stared after him, and finally, he shook himself from his daze and took off after the other to find the brunet in the small galley pouring them each a glass of raspberry flavoured seltzer water. After taking a sip from the offered tumbler, he silently watched the tall teen for a few moments. "Well, um…i-if you're serious, I'm ready." He glanced over at the overstuffed leather sofa, and then back to Seto. "That would probably be the most comfortable place, I think."

"Alright. What do you want me to do?" the blue-eyed teen asked as he set his drink down on the counter and toed off his shoes. A slow smirk spread across his features as he watched the other grow progressively more flustered.

The blond licked his lips nervously, and said, "W-well, most people strip down to their underwear and lie under a sheet. At the very least, you should take off your shirt." Amber eyes widened in unabashed appreciation when they were treated to a feast of smooth, creamy skin, defined abs and toned muscles. "Oh God…" he breathed, stepping out of the way when Seto approached him to lie face-up on the couch.

"Is this how you want me?" the brunet asked, the double entendre deliberate. He closed his eyes, only to crack one open a moment later to regard the still-clothed male. "Well?" he demanded.

"R-right." Kicking off his own sneakers, Joey moved over to the couch and knelt on the carpet beside it. He swallowed thickly and decided he would begin with the feet. They seemed the most innocuous. He picked one up in his hands and marvelled silently at how soft and silky the skin was – not a trace of a callous anywhere. Slowly, he began to knead the flesh, his fingers working the arch to remove any knots. Gently, he rubbed each toe in succession, and then he slid his hands up to carefully rotate the ankle. He repeated the process on the other foot, and relishing in the liberty to freely touch the other, he turned his attention to the toned, slender calves. His hands skated upwards to caress firm thighs, and he inwardly cursed the hem of Seto's shorts when they prevented him from exploring upwards as much as he would have liked. As he massaged those long legs, he realized that although the brunet looked skinny, he was far from emaciated. The muscle was lean and strong, and there was barely an ounce of fat on him. He licked his lips and let his eyes fall closed to resist the temptation to stare at the blue-eyed teen's crotch, and as he stroked along the inner thighs, he let his imagination run free instead. Reluctantly, he shifted his body further up the couch so that he could work on the taller male's arms and hands. He loved the slender, elegant fingers, and though he'd never really noticed before, he discovered that Seto had fairly large hands. Still, they were proportionate to his body, and absolutely perfect – like everything else about him. He spent several minutes working the biceps, triceps and shoulders, his fingers tracing over the dips and ridges as his mind memorized every detail. Lightly, he ran his thumbs around the shells of Seto's ears, and then tenderly massaged his temples. When he was finished, he murmured quietly, "Ok, turn over…"

The brunet opened his eyes, a lazy smile curving up one corner of his mouth. "Hn…you are good." The smile turned slightly wolfish as he turned onto his stomach and pillowed his head on his forearms, not saying anything further.

Joey bit back a groan at the other's teasing, and then he returned to the foot of the couch, giving the backs of Seto's legs a brief rub down. When he reached the firm globes of the other's ass, he grinned himself and lightly caressed the cheeks, kneading them for several moments and stopping when he felt his groin pulse. Shifting his position, he moved to where he could reach the brunet's back, and after running his hands in long, full strokes along the other's spine, he moved to the shoulders. He switched to a deep, penetrating massage as he worked the tension from the muscle, his fingers caressing the smooth flesh as he gazed longingly at the lean body stretched out in front of him. Again, his eyes fell closed and he slipped into a bit of fantasy. A moment later, he froze in terror when he heard a soft moan, and horrified, he glanced over at the brunet, uncertain as to whether the sound had actually come from him or the other. When he realized that Seto hadn't moved, he surmised it had been the blue-eyed male, and he quickly finished up, pressing a gentle kiss to the nape of his neck when he was done. "Feel better?" he asked a moment later.

The brunet purred appreciatively as he indulged in a long, lithe stretch, and he turned partially onto his side so that he could better look at the blond. "Mmm…a bit, but not completely," he stated, his sapphire eyes slightly dark as he gazed hungrily at the other.

Joey's cock swelled when he saw that look, and this time, he _knew_ it was him that had loosed the small moan. "D-didn't it relax you?"

"Mm hmm…maybe a bit too much." He chuckled softly as he reached out a hand to stroke a heated cheek. "A guy could get used to that, you know." The fingers curled around the fair-haired male's neck to twine in the soft tresses at the base of his skull. Locking gazes, he sat up enough so that he could claim the blond's mouth in a deep, ravishing kiss, his tongue seeking every dip and surface. When he pulled away, he murmured, "Come here." Shifting onto his back, he tugged Joey up to straddle his hips, his hands sliding under the shorter teen's t-shirt to caress his back, easing him down for another embrace. He gasped softly when he felt a substantial bulge press against his own hardness, and he smiled. "Glad to know I'm not out of line for feeling this way," he purred as he arched up slightly.

"N-no, not at all," Joey replied, his voice coming out in a tremulous whisper at the proximity of the other. 

"Good. I wouldn't want to offend you or scare you away," the brunet continued softly as he let his fingers slide around to the blond's chest, the thumbs brushing against the semi-hardened nubs through the fabric and teasing them to pert peaks. His smile widened when the other gasped wantonly and dropped his head back, a gorgeous flush of arousal spreading across his cheeks.

"N-no chance of that," the fair-haired teen panted as he lowered his head to gaze almost drunkenly at the other through his long, golden lashes. "Not when I've been thinking about this for a long time."

"How long is that?" A hand sifted through light coloured tresses, and then trailed teasingly down a tight, compact torso.

"Long enough," Joey responded, shivering slightly at the gentle caress. He shifted his hips down a little, and groaned softly at the more intimate contact. "Too long," he added as he pulled off his t-shirt and then pressed his chest against the brunet's as he stretched out to kiss him.

Seto delighted in the feel of the hot, tanned flesh against him, and as he nuzzled the other's throat, he murmured, "God, I want you, Joey. Will you let me?" His tongue snaked out to lick teasingly at the juncture of neck and collarbone, and then he nipped softly.

"Yes…" The word trailed off into a soft, needy moan.

With a pleased sound, the brunet flipped them, and he teasingly thrust his hips forward, his own arousal increasing at the soft mewl he earned in return. He ravaged the blond's mouth in another impassioned kiss, and then he slid back toward the foot of the couch. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of the smaller teen's shorts and slowly pulled them down, gazing lasciviously at the substantial erection that was revealed. "You're absolutely perfect," he breathed as he discarded the clothing over his shoulder and then leaned down to mischievously lick up the underside of the shaft.

Joey arched up at the touch, a wanton whimper escaping him. He sucked in his bottom lip, worrying it with his teeth as he gazed through half-lidded eyes at his lover. His tanned fingers absently caressed his nipples as he watched Seto move further back on the cushion, and he moaned libidinously when he felt a warm, wet tongue prod at his entrance. A moment later, he grunted softly as one of those slender digits penetrated him, but he soon relaxed against the gentle ministrations.

While Seto continued to probe and stretch the blond's opening with his finger, he returned his mouth to his partner's cock, teasingly lapping at the head, and then suckling it between his lips like some divine lollipop. As he felt the ring begin to slacken, he added a second digit, alternating between gentle scissoring and deep probing to prepare the fair-haired male. 

It wasn't long before Joey was mewling and writhing on the couch, and begging the brunet for more, and when the blue-eyed teen pressed against the sensitive bundle of nerves deep inside him, the blond cried out hungrily, tears of need welling in the corners of his eyes as he gazed longingly at his lover.

Seto continued to pleasure the other for a few moments more before removing his fingers from the pliant body beneath him. Getting to his feet, he padded over to the small bathroom, returning a moment later with a bottle of hand cream. After quickly divesting himself of his remaining clothing, he liberally coated his shaft with the cool, creamy liquid, and then rubbed a generous amount onto the softened pucker. "I'm sorry if it hurts a little at first…but I promise it will get better," he whispered before placing a gentle kiss on the blond's lips.

"I know it will, but I trust you, Set'," Joey murmured in return, his heated amber gaze locked with the cool sapphire. He felt the tip press against him, and he squeezed his eyes closed when the brunet began to penetrate him; he always hated this part. Desperately, he tried to keep his breathing even, tried to force himself to relax against the burning sensation he felt. Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to take it any more and was debating asking Seto to stop, the uncomfortable feeling passed. He opened his eyes and met that endless blue, and he saw the adoration and concern swirling in their depths. "I'm ok," he said softly as he leaned up to kiss the brunet's chin in response to the unasked question. And it was true. At that moment, joined with the other, he felt loved and complete. Whole. His arms slid up to wrap around the strong neck and his legs encircled that slender waist. "Just…move, Set'. Please…"

The brunet nodded his acquiescence, and he carefully eased out and then pressed back inside in one long, fluid motion. He captured the soft, full lips with his own, attempting once again to convey through his actions what he found he had a hard time expressing in words. He continued to keep his movements gentle and slow, allowing the blond to grow accustomed to the sensations. He smiled against Joey's mouth when he heard the pleasured sigh and felt the other begin to rock up against him, counterpoint to his motion.

The fair-haired male felt as though a million tiny lightning bolts were sparking across his skin; he had never felt anything as incredible as this before, and a tiny groan fell from his lips. As his breathing and heart rate increased, he turned heavy-lidded eyes to the other and murmured out a sensual, "More."

Seto's cock twitched and he nearly came on the spot at the entreated request. The blond looked thoroughly debauched, and if possible, even more attractive with his inhibitions lowered. He kissed him harshly in acknowledgement, and then shifted his hips slightly, making his angle of penetration sharper and deeper, thrusting in hard to hit his lover's prostate.

Joey loosed a wordless cry, his head tipping back as his nails rasped along the brunet's shoulders. His body arched up, seemingly of its own accord to meet the other's, his legs wrapping tighter to pull the other in deeper. His breathing was harsh and fast now, and he could feel himself rapidly spiralling towards his release. He bit down on his bottom lip as a tingling sensation began to wash over him. With a raspy cry of Seto's name, he came, his vision greying out slightly around the edges from the force of his orgasm. As his seed pulsed out between their bodies, a stream of incoherent babbling left him as wave after wave of mind-numbing pleasure washed over him.

The blue-eyed male hissed softly when he felt the stinging burn in his shoulders, his desire increasing at the warm, wet sensation against his stomach. He moaned lowly when the blond's passage grew impossibly tight, and with a groan, he thrust hard into his lover's body a few more times before his own climax consumed him. With a feral roar of, "Mine!" and one final thrust, he drove in deep, touching off a secondary mini-orgasm in his lover as he came hard himself. He crushed his lips to the smaller teen's, his hips spasming slightly with every pulse, his arms wrapping possessively, almost desperately, around Joey's trembling body. After a moment, he eased away, plying the fair-haired male's forehead, nose, cheeks and chin with tiny, loving kisses while he waited for both of them to come down from their heights. 

"Holy shit, Set'," the blond panted as he smiled up at the other. "I've never felt anything like that before." His expression turned suddenly shy, and with a goofy grin on his face, he said, "For as sappy as it sounds, I think it was because I love you."

"I think so, too," Seto replied as he gave the smaller male a slow, gentle kiss, and then he reluctantly slipped free from his lover's body. A small smile curved up the corners of his lips when he saw the disappointed pout on the other's face. "Don't look at me like that," he chided teasingly. "We both know that this wasn't a one time thing, right?" The smile widened when he saw Joey nod, and he returned to the bathroom to clean himself up, coming back a moment later with a warm, wet cloth and a towel. "There's nothing I'd like more right now than to get in a hot shower with you," he began as he started to lovingly wipe the remains of their passion from the tanned skin. "Unfortunately, the bathroom on the boat isn't exactly designed for that, so I'm afraid we'll have to wait until later." Tenderly, he dried the area, wrapped the cloth up in the towel to set aside, and then leaned down to press a kiss to the blond's abdomen. As he sat back on his heels, an impish look settled on his face, and he added, "But, don't think for one minute that I'll forget about it."

"I know you won't," Joey replied. "And even if you did, I sure as hell won't!" He sighed when the faint sound of cheering floated down to them, and as he cupped one of the brunet's cheeks in his hand, he said with a trace of disappointment, "Guess the concert's over now, huh?"

Seto shook his head. "No. It's just intermission. They're going to start –" He stopped when the first explosions could be heard in the air. "Come with me." He got to his feet and grabbed a light cotton blanket from one of the storage compartments, and then took the blond's hand and led him out to the stern deck. Deftly, he drew the fair-haired teen against him so that they stood front-to-back, and wrapped the blanket around them both. The brunet sat on the edge of the steps, the other snuggled in his lap, and as they cuddled together under the stars, they watched the colourful fireworks exploding further inland. 

At some point, Joey nuzzled his head under Seto's chin and drifted off into a light doze. Blue eyes sparkled softly, and after he had gently pressed a loving kiss into the tangle of golden hair, he smiled. He was happier than he could ever remember being, and had anyone told him at the beginning of the summer that this was how things would turn out, he'd have cynically laughed in their face and told them that fairy tales were bullshit. Leaning back against the hull and drawing the blond back with him, Seto could hear the faint strains of rock music starting up once again, and having been subjected to Mokuba's CDs more often than he could count, he recognized the slow, lilting rhythm as the group's headliner song, 'Dare to Dream'. He chuckled softly at the irony as he ran through the lyrics in his head, and he glanced down at the warm bundle in his arms. So long as he had Joey, he would always remember that sometimes fairy tales did come true, occasionally, dreams were worth pursuing, and some risks were worth taking.


End file.
